Show ContentsHeil History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Heil family

The surname Heil was first found in Saxony, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society. It later became more prominent as many branches of the same house acquired distant estates and branches, some in foreign countries, always elevating their social status by their great contributions to society.

Early History of the Heil family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heil research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1604, 1605, 1664 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Heil History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heil Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Heyland, Heiland, Heilland, Hieland, Hyland, Highland, Heland and many more.

Early Notables of the Heil family

Prominent bearers of the family name Heil at this time were

  • Jan Baptist van Heil (1604-1685), a Flemish Baroque painter. Born in Brussels, he was considered the best of three famous brothers
  • his brother Leo van Heil (1605-c.1664), a painter of flowers and insects, while his brother Daniel van Heil (1604-1664) painted winter scenes and burning cities

Heil Ranking

In the United States, the name Heil is the 7,150th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


Heil migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heil Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Jacob Heil, who landed in New York in 1709 2
  • Georg Thomas Heil who settled in Pennsylvania in 1739 at the age of 35 with his wife Susanna and their five children
  • Valentin Heil, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1749 2
  • Georg Heil, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 2
  • Johannes Heil, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Heil Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Nicholos Heil, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1837 2
  • Peter Heil, aged 30, who arrived in Missouri in 1839 2
  • John Heil, who arrived in Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Colchis" 2
  • Heinrich Heil, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 2
  • Caspar Heil, who landed in Iowa in 1852 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Heil Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Karl Heil, who arrived in Alabama in 1914 2

Heil migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heil Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Gottfried Heil went to Quebec in 1778 when he was 30 after serving with British forces during the American Revolution
Heil Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Mth Heil, aged 19, who arrived in Quebec in 1893

Contemporary Notables of the name Heil (post 1700) +

  • Bob Heil (1940-2024), American sound and radio engineer, best known for creating the template for modern rock sound systems, founder of Heil Sound in 1966, inventor of the Heil Talk Box in 1973
  • Julius Peter Heil (1876-1949), American politician, 30th Governor of Wisconsin (1939 to 1943)
  • Philip H. Heil, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Northampton County, 1899-1902 3
  • Mark Heil, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Michigan State University board of trustees, 1998 3
  • Ken Heil, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Kentucky 4th District, 1980 3
  • Julius Peter Heil (1876-1949), American Republican politician, Governor of Wisconsin, 1939-43; Defeated, 1942; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1940 3
  • Florence Heil, American Republican politician, Member of Missouri Republican State Committee, 1967; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1972 3
  • Hubertus Heil (b. 1972), German politician, General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 2005
  • Johannes Heil (b. 1978), German electronic music producer
  • Oskar Heil (1908-1994), German electrical engineer and inventor, known for his work on the Microwave vacuum tube, Field-effect transistor and the Air Motion Transformer
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bismarck
  • Adolf Heil (1921-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 4


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details


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