Hess
Usually a name for someone from Hesse, the German region.
The #564 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,190 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hess is most commonly a German surname meaning “a person from Hesse.” The regional name Hesse goes back to the old tribal name of the Chatti (also written Hatti), which later developed into the form Hesse in medieval German. In older scholarship, the tribe’s name was sometimes explained as meaning something like “the hooded” or “hat-wearing” people, though that deeper origin is less certain.
History
The surname appears in German records as a regional identifier and was later carried abroad by migration into English-speaking countries and elsewhere. Some older surname dictionaries also connect it with shorter forms such as Hass or Hesse, and with related variants like Hessian and Hessey. In modern usage, Hess is especially common in Germany and in countries with German immigrant communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The word Hesse ultimately traces back to the ancient Chatti, a Germanic tribe mentioned by Roman writers.
From the historical record
“HESS 1 (Ger.) One from Hesse [f. the medi- HESSE I seval tribal name Hehii, the Roman Chatti (for Hatti), with the Upper Ger- manic mutation of f to s through tlie intermed. pron. ts; doubtless named from the head-covering (hat) affected — 0.(L.)Teut. halt, surviving in Fris. hat, O.K. hat, O.N. hdtt-r (earlier…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)