# Hess (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/hess/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from German of German and Ashkenazi origin, denoting a person from Hesse.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 59,486 |
| US rank (2010) | 564 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,190 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.9% (57,822 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /hɛs/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hess in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hess in the United States, Germany and Norway.

## People named Hess

- Victor Francis Hess, Austrian physicist and Nobel prize laureate (1883-1964)
- Harry Hammond Hess, American geologist (1906–1969)
- Leonhard Hess Stejneger, biologist (1851-1943)
- David Hess, American actor singer and songwriter (1936-2011)
- Heinrich von Hess, Austrian Field Marshal (1788-1870)
- Wolf Rüdiger Hess, Architect and writer; Son of Rudolf Hess (1937-2001)
- Karl Hess, American journalist, writer and libertarian (1923–1994)
- Hans Hess, bobsledder
- Adam Hess, American professional basketball player
- Robert Hess, American chess player
- Michael A. Hess, American lawyer (1952-1995)

## Similar surnames

Hass, Huss, Hesse, Heise, Hoss, Heiss, Hewes, Hayes, Hicks, House, Haas, Hays.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.