The Heil surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,205 people carried this name — #4,327 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,000 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (8,228).
What the name means
The meaning of the Heil surname
As a German surname, shortened from Heinrich. As a German and Dutch surname, from the name Heila, from hail (“whole”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Heil» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 276 people named Heil.
40 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 29 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
180 people named Heil live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 110 people named Heil live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Santa Fe.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
55 people named Heil have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 95 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
22 people named Heil is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Heil in American newspapers,
1878–1911.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 188,219 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Heil,
with a public archive behind them.
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Julius P. Heil 1876–1949 · businessperson -
Andreas Heil d. 1582 · bookseller
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Philip Henry Heil 1852–1906 · politician
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Bernhard Heil 1861– · secondary school teacher
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Gerhard Heil 1869–1943 · politician
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Frieda Neumann 1872–1940
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Heil.
- Heiby 111 · U.S. census
- Heid 4,040 · U.S. census
- Heidelberger 457 · U.S. census
- Heidinger 474 · U.S. census
- Heidmann 175 · U.S. census
- Heidt 2,643 · U.S. census
- Heili 132 · U.S. census
- Heilig 1,884 · U.S. census
- Heilmann 480 · U.S. census
- Heim 14,414 · U.S. census
- Heimann 2,153 · U.S. census
- Heimburger 313 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Heil is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.