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Heller Family History

Heller Surname Meaning

German: nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller because it was first minted (in 1208) at the Swabian town of (Schwäbisch) Hall. Compare Hall.

German: topographic name for someone living by a field named with a word meaning ‘hell’ (see Helle).

Dutch: variant of Helder. English: variant of Hillier.

English: in some cases a topographic name from Middle English heller ‘dweller on the hill’ a term that belongs to southern England especially Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. See Hiller and Huller.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from Schwäbisch Hall. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion from an inflected form used before a male personal name of German hell ‘light, bright’ Yiddish hel.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Heller family from?

You can see how Heller families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Heller family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Heller families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 139 Heller families living in Ontario. This was about 55% of all the recorded Heller's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Heller families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Heller surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Heller ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Income were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Heller. 61% of Heller men worked as a Farmer and 43% of Heller women worked as an Income. Some less common occupations for Americans named Heller were Confectioner and Servant.

View Census Data for Heller | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    61%
  • Labourer
    11%
  • Laborer
    9%
  • Confectioner
    7%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Income
    43%
  • Coutier
    29%
  • Servant
    29%

What Heller family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 132,000 census records available for the last name Heller. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Heller census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Heller

Passenger Lists

There are 33,000 immigration records available for the last name Heller. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Heller immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 36,000 military records available for the last name Heller. For the veterans among your Heller ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Heller military records

You've only scratched the surface of Heller family history

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What is the average Heller lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Heller life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Heller in 1940 was 35, and 79 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Heller

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Heller ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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