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

Dahms, 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 Dahms surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dahms in America

Dahms is the 15806th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dahms surname appeared 1,842 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 Dahms.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dahms 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 Dahms

The surname Dahms originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 14th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Low German word "dam," meaning a small dam or earthen mound. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone living near a dam or mound.

The name is first documented in the region of Holstein, in northern Germany. It was likely an occupational name or a topographic name, referring to a person's occupation or place of residence. In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records from the area, spelled as "Dammes" or "Dames."

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Dammes, a farmer who lived in the village of Krummenort, near Kiel, in the late 15th century. Records from the 16th century also mention a family of wool merchants in Lübeck, using the spelling "Dames."

By the 17th century, the name had evolved to its modern spelling, "Dahms." During this period, the name spread to other parts of Germany, particularly in the northern regions. In the 18th century, Johann Dahms, a prominent theologian and author, was born in Lübeck in 1711.

As people began to migrate from Germany to other parts of the world, the name was carried to new lands. One notable bearer of the name was Gustav Dahms, a German-American composer and music educator who lived from 1833 to 1909.

Other historical figures with the surname Dahms include Bernhard Dahms, a German novelist and playwright born in 1876, and Walter Dahms, a German-American architect and civil engineer who lived from 1892 to 1976.

While the name Dahms is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, reflecting the migration patterns of German settlers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dahms

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

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 Dahms 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 Dahms 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 Dahms was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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