Heinemann
A German surname that likely began as a local or descriptive name built on the common element Hein- and the ending -mann.
The #9,552 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,727 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is German, and the excerpts suggest it belongs to the large class of German names ending in -mann, a very common surname ending. The first element Hein- is likely the short form of a personal name such as Heinrich (Henry), though some 19th-century writers also treated such names as local or habitational in form. Taken together, the name may mean something like “Hein’s man,” or simply reflect a German surname pattern with a personal-name base.
History
The name is recorded in 19th-century surname dictionaries as a German family name and as a source of American variants. Later writers grouped it with German surnames ending in -mann, noting that such names are often locative or descriptive in formation. In the United States it appears as an immigrant surname and remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early American surname works explicitly noted Heinemann as a German name appearing in U.S. usage, showing how immigrant spellings were tracked in the 1800s.
From the historical record
“neman.'i.e.aherdsDian; v. Hine. (a) An American variant of the German Heinemann. Bo«on{U.S.), 3- Hinge. — Local ; v, Ing.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances