The Hesse surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,084 people carried this name — #5,697 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 5,929 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Hesse surname
A habitational surname for an inhabitant of Hesse.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hesse» (German), 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 940 people named Hesse.
69 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 55 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
307 people named Hesse live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 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 Poland’s population register
153 people named Hesse have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 228 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Łódź.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 73 people named Hesse 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 Buenos Aires Province.
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 33 people named Hesse 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 Luxembourg Province.
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
184 people named Hesse 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
Hesse in American newspapers,
1899–1913.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 91,959 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Hesse,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt 1577–1626 · ruler -
Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt 1577–1626 · ruler -
Holger Hesse d. 1967 · engineer
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Otto Justus Basilius Hesse d. 1793 · teacher
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W. Hesse d. 1914 · soldier
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Barthold Hesse d. 1959
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Hesse.
- Hery 189 · U.S. census
- Herz 1,612 · U.S. census
- Herzberg 1,939 · U.S. census
- Herzig 1,426 · U.S. census
- Herzog 11,146 · U.S. census
- Hess 59,486 · U.S. census
- Hessel 1,042 · U.S. census
- Hettich 732 · U.S. census
- Hettinger 3,111 · U.S. census
- Hettler 382 · U.S. census
- Hetz 554 · U.S. census
- Hetzel 3,607 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Hesse 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.