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Heck

HEK (rhymes with “neck”)

A surname that can point to a place-name, especially a Yorkshire township, or to a German/Dutch word for a hedge or fence.

The #2,580 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,061 Americans shares it.

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Etymology

In English records, Heck can be a locational surname, apparently taken from a place called Heck, with Lower noting a Yorkshire township of that name. In German and Dutch, the same surname-form may also reflect words like German Hecke and Dutch hek, meaning a hedge, fence, or enclosure. Because these traditions overlap, the surname can have more than one independent origin.

History

The name is found in medieval English records, including forms such as de Heck and de Hyche, showing early surname use tied to places. On the continental side, related spellings appear in German and Dutch areas, where the word itself is a common topographical term. Modern bearers in English-speaking countries may descend from either line.

Origin

locationalEnglishGermanDutch

Regions

YorkshireEnglandGermanyNetherlands

Variant spellings

HeckeHaeckHaeckeHickHychede Heck

Fun fact

The same root that can underlie Heck is also related to the everyday German word for a hedge, Hecke.

From the historical record

“IIICK. See Isaac, ; but it may be local, from Heck or Hick, a Yorkshire township. HICKES. See Isaac. HICKEY. See Isaac.”

— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom

Related surnames

ManuelBussAbeytaEdmistonBerensMillion
Confidence: mixed. Sources: Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom, British Family Names: their origin and meaning (1st ed.), The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States, An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names, The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany.

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