2000
#17,268
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,509
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Dahlman
A habitational name from any of several places named Dalen, referring to someone from those areas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,767 Americans carry the last name Dahlman. That puts it at #17,878 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 193,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dahlman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 193,975
Census rank
#17,878
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,541 bearers of the surname Dahlman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17878th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dahlman
The surname Dahlman is of German origin, derived from the Middle Low German word "dal" meaning "valley" or "dale." This name likely originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in areas with valleys or dales, during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Dahlman can be traced back to the 14th century in various German towns and villages. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Johannes Dahlman, a merchant in Lübeck in 1387, and Hinrich Dahlman, a landowner in Rostock in 1412.
The name Dahlman also appears in several historical documents from the 15th and 16th centuries, such as tax records, court proceedings, and parish registers. In some cases, the name was spelled differently, such as Dalhman, Daleman, or Dalman, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One notable historical figure with the surname Dahlman was Johann Dahlman (1592-1658), a German Lutheran theologian and writer. He served as a pastor in Lübeck and wrote several influential works on theology and church history.
Another prominent individual was Johann Friedrich Dahlmann (1785-1860), a German historian and political philosopher. He played a significant role in the liberal and nationalist movements of the 19th century and served as a professor at the University of Göttingen.
In the realm of literature, the surname Dahlman is associated with Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann (1785-1860), a German writer, poet, and literary critic. He was a contemporary of Johann Friedrich Dahlmann and contributed to the development of German Romanticism.
The surname Dahlman can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Dahlmannsweg (Dahlman's Way) in Lübeck, a street named after the theologian Johann Dahlman.
Over the centuries, the Dahlman surname has spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe and the world, carried by emigrants and descendants of the original German families. Some notable bearers of the name in more recent history include Hans Dahlmann (1905-1987), a German novelist and playwright, and Bodo Dahlmann (1936-2010), a German actor and voice artist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dahlman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Dahlman bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Dahlman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 1,420
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 45
- Two or more races2.3% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 19
- Black or African American0.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dahlman
Dahlman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#18,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,516
+7 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.51
Rank movement Down 1,033 places
2020
#17,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,541
+25 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 423 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,268 | 1,509 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,301 | 1,516 | 0.51 | +7 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 1,033 places |
| 2020 | #17,878 | 1,541 | 0.52 | +25 bearers (+1.6%) | Up 423 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Dahlman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #18,301 | #17,878 | 2.3% |
| Count | 1,516 | 1,541 | 1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.51 | 0.52 | 1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dahlman bearers went from 1,516 to 1,541 (+1.6% change). The surname moved up 423 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,301 to #17,878.
FAQ
Dahlman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dahlman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,767 living Americans carry the surname Dahlman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 193,975 residents.
How common is Dahlman?
Dahlman ranks #17,878 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,541 people with the surname Dahlman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,767), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dahlman.
Has Dahlman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dahlman went from 1,516 recorded bearers to 1,541. That is an increase of 25 (+1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,301 to #17,878.
What does the Census say about the background of Dahlman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dahlman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (1,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dahlman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Dahlman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Dahlman mean?
A habitational name from any of several places named Dalen, referring to someone from those areas. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Dahlman (0.52 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Dahlman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Dahlman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.