The Held surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,195 people carried this name — #4,896 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 41,000 people counted. That is down 21% from 9,126 in 2000.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
1,250 people named Held live in Switzerland.
They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 361 people named Held.
33 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 Poland’s population register
89 people named Held have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 148 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 Silesian.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 82 people named Held 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 Misiones.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 68 people named Held live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
196 people named Held 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
Held in American newspapers,
1868–1905.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,329,772 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Held,
with a public archive behind them.
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George Edward Held d. 1966 · politician -
Karl Held d. 1878
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Matthias Held 1490–1563 · judge
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David Held 1595–1630 · conrector
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Heinrich Held 1620–1659 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Held.
- Heitzler 121 · U.S. census
- Heitzmann 380 · U.S. census
- Hekimian 169 · U.S. census
- Helal 323 · U.S. census
- Helbert 798 · U.S. census
- Helbling 1,107 · U.S. census
- Heldt 1,306 · U.S. census
- Heleine 109 · U.S. census
- Helf 573 · U.S. census
- Helfenstein 221 · U.S. census
- Helfer 1,530 · U.S. census
- Helfrich 3,482 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Held 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.