Find out how popular the last name Dahlen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dahlen.

Dahlen, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dahlen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dahlen in America

Dahlen is the 14827th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dahlen surname appeared 1,999 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Dahlen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dahlen to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dahlen

The surname Dahlen originated in Germany, emerging during the Middle Ages between the 11th and 15th centuries. It is derived from the Old German word "dal," meaning valley, and likely referred to someone who lived in or near a valley. The name was initially spelled as "Dalen" or "Dahlen," with variations such as "Dahl" and "Dael" also appearing in historical records.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dahlen can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval Saxon documents from the 12th century. This document mentions a certain "Theodericus de Dalen," suggesting the name's existence during that time period.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Urbarium of the Cistercian Abbey of Eberbach in Rheingau, Germany, where a certain "Hartmudus Dalen" was listed as a tenant farmer. This record provides evidence of the name's usage in the region during the Late Middle Ages.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Dahlen throughout history include:

1. Johannes Dahlen (1570-1628), a German Lutheran theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.

2. Andreas Dahlen (1711-1789), a Swedish botanist and explorer who accompanied the renowned naturalist Carl Linnaeus on several expeditions and contributed to the classification of numerous plant species.

3. Friedrich Konrad Dahlen (1837-1909), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin, including the German State Library and the former Reichsbank building.

4. Gustaf Dahlen (1834-1900), a Swedish industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Dahlen Ironworks, one of the largest iron and steel companies in Sweden during the 19th century.

5. Erich Dahlen (1900-1973), a German aviation engineer who played a significant role in the development of several German aircraft during World War II, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters.

The surname Dahlen has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany and Scandinavia, such as Dahlen (a town in Saxony, Germany), Dahlen (a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany), and Dahlen (a locality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dahlen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dahlen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dahlen was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dahlen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dahlen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dahlen, please contact us.

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