Explore the Family Name Hillis
The meaning of Hillis
1. Scottish and English: variant of Hillhouse. 2. English: variant of Hills.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Hillis in the United States?
According to data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Hillis has seen a slight decline in popularity over a decade. In 2000, Hillis ranked 5608 in terms of commonality among surnames in the United States, but by 2010 it had fallen to 5884, showing a decrease of 4.92%. Despite the drop in ranking, the actual count of individuals bearing the Hillis surname increased from 5673 to 5866, showing an increase of 3.4%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,608 | #5,884 | -4.92% |
| Count | 5,673 | 5,866 | 3.4% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.1 | 1.99 | -5.24% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hillis
The ethnic identity associated with the surname Hillis also experienced some changes over the same decade, as reflected by the Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority of individuals identified as White, with a slight decrease from 92.61% in 2000 to 90.86% in 2010. There were increases in the percentages of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (from 0.32% to 0.41%), Black (from 3.56% to 3.87%) and those identifying with two or more races (from 1.04% to 1.41%). The largest change was observed within the Hispanic group, which saw an increase from 1.30% to 2.03%, marking a 56.15% change. Lastly, those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native increased slightly from 1.16% to 1.41% over the ten-year period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.61% | 90.86% | -1.89% |
| Black | 3.56% | 3.87% | 8.71% |
| Hispanic | 1.3% | 2.03% | 56.15% |
| Two or More Races | 1.04% | 1.41% | 35.58% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.16% | 1.41% | 21.55% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.32% | 0.41% | 28.13% |
Hillis ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Hillis is British & Irish, which comprises 61.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (20.1%) and Scandinavian (4.9%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Indigenous American, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 61.5% |
| French & German | 20.1% |
| Scandinavian | 4.9% |
| Other | 13.5% |
Possible origins of the surname Hillis
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Hillis have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 94.70% |
| Kent, United Kingdom | 94.70% |
| County Durham, United Kingdom | 93.90% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 93.90% |
| Belfast, United Kingdom | 93.90% |
What Hillis haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Hillis is I-Z138, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z138 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-Y8599 and I-M253, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Crews, Beach, Searcy, Jett, Hixon, Soper, Barrows, Echols, Gorham, Seale.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Hillis surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Hillis have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Hillis" Surname 44.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Hillis" Surname 31.6%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Hillis" Surname 30.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Hillis" Surname 18.8%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Hillis?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Hillis are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition