Heil
A German surname from a word meaning “healthy,” “sound,” or “whole.”
The #4,327 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,629 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Heil comes from the old Germanic word heil, meaning “healthy,” “safe,” “sound,” or “unharmed.” In medieval German it could function as a descriptive nickname or as the first element in shortened compound names. The surname therefore likely began as a byname for someone thought of as “sound” or “fortunate.”
History
Historical surname dictionaries connect Heil to German naming patterns and to short forms built from names containing Heil-. It is found in German-speaking areas and later appears more widely through migration, especially in the modern era. Some related forms may also reflect shortened compound surnames rather than the simple adjective alone.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root appears in the old greeting formula that survives in expressions like “Wassail,” originally tied to a toast meaning “be healthy.”
From the historical record
“■Andra Elwand, alljt Dand of Bog- heil,' lui : TTT, p. ilviii, DBDde Elwold, 1515 : ibid. p. »k. Dand PringiU. 1,^16: QQQ. p, i».”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances