2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dahmes
A surname possibly derived from a place name or related to the ancient German word "Dahm," meaning valley or dale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Dahmes. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dahmes 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Dahmes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahmes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dahmes
The surname DAHMES is of German origin, and can be traced back to the medieval period in the region that is now modern-day Germany. The name is believed to have derived from the old Germanic word "dohm," which referred to a cathedral or church. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived near or worked within a cathedral or ecclesiastical community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DAHMES appears in the Wormser Wachszinsbucher, a historical document from the city of Worms in the Rhineland region of Germany, dating back to the 14th century. This early reference to the name further solidifies its German roots.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname DAHMES was Bartholomaus DAHMES, a Lutheran theologian and reformer born in Schmalkalden, Germany, in 1534. He played a significant role in the spread of Protestantism in the region.
Another historical figure bearing the DAHMES name was Johann DAHMES, a German painter and engraver who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was known for his religious works and was active in the city of Nuremberg.
During the 17th century, the DAHMES surname can be found in various records from the Palatinate region of Germany, such as church registers and tax rolls. One notable bearer from this time period was Friedrich DAHMES, a prominent merchant and councilman in the city of Heidelberg, born in 1632.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the DAHMES surname was Heinrich DAHMES, a German philosopher and scholar born in Magdeburg in 1712. He made significant contributions to the fields of ethics and metaphysics during the Age of Enlightenment.
As the centuries passed, the DAHMES name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, with variations in spelling emerging, such as Dahm, Dahmke, and Dames. Despite these variations, the core surname DAHMES retained its connection to its German ecclesiastical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dahmes
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahmes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dahmes 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 Dahmes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 107
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dahmes
Dahmes appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+7 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,548 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.6%) | Up 6,548 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 Dahmes 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 | #153,769 | #147,221 | 4.3% |
| Count | 106 | 113 | 6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dahmes bearers went from 106 to 113 (+6.6% change). The surname moved up 6,548 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #147,221.
FAQ
Dahmes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dahmes?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Dahmes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Dahmes?
Dahmes ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Dahmes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dahmes.
Has Dahmes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dahmes went from 106 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 7 (+6.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Dahmes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahmes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Dahmes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dahmes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Dahmes (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 Dahmes mean?
A surname possibly derived from a place name or related to the ancient German word "Dahm," meaning valley or dale. 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 Dahmes (0.04 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 surname Dahmes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.