2000
#66,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 280
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Dallenbach
A locational surname originating from the town of Dallenbach in Switzerland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 318 Americans carry the last name Dallenbach. That puts it at #75,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,077,844 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dallenbach 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
318
1 in 1,077,844
Census rank
#75,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
277
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 277 bearers of the surname Dallenbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 75111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dallenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dallenbach
The surname DALLENBACH originates from the German-speaking regions of Switzerland. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, derived from the Swiss-German dialect words "Dalen" meaning "valley" and "Bach" meaning "stream" or "brook". This suggests that the name was likely associated with someone who lived in a valley near a stream or brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DALLENBACH can be found in the town records of Lucerne, Switzerland, dating back to the early 1500s. The name was also documented in various Protestant church registers and land ownership records across central Switzerland during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the late 17th century, a notable individual named Johann DALLENBACH (1638-1697) was a Swiss Protestant minister and theologian who served as a pastor in the city of Bern. He was known for his published works on religious topics and his role in the Swiss Reformed Church.
Another early bearer of the surname was Caspar DALLENBACH (1672-1741), a Swiss architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in the city of Lucerne, including the Jesuit Church and parts of the city's fortifications.
In the 19th century, the DALLENBACH name gained prominence with the birth of Johann Jakob DALLENBACH (1819-1890), a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Swiss Federal Council, the country's executive governing body, from 1875 to 1890.
Outside of Switzerland, the name also appeared in various historical records across parts of Germany and France, likely due to migration patterns. One notable individual was the German-born philosopher and psychologist Karl DALLENBACH (1893-1963), who was a professor at Cornell University and made significant contributions to the fields of experimental psychology and visual perception.
While the DALLENBACH surname has its roots in Switzerland and the German-speaking regions, it has since spread to various parts of the world through emigration, with bearers of the name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dallenbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Dallenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dallenbach 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 Dallenbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 260
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dallenbach
Dallenbach 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
#68,345
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 288
+8 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 2,272 places
2020
#75,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 277
-11 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 6,766 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #66,073 | 280 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #68,345 | 288 | 0.10 | +8 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 2,272 places |
| 2020 | #75,111 | 277 | 0.09 | -11 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 6,766 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 Dallenbach 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 | #68,345 | #75,111 | -9.9% |
| Count | 288 | 277 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.09 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dallenbach bearers went from 288 to 277 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 6,766 positions in the national ranking, going from #68,345 to #75,111.
FAQ
Dallenbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dallenbach?
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the surname Dallenbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,077,844 residents.
How common is Dallenbach?
Dallenbach ranks #75,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 277 people with the surname Dallenbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (318), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Dallenbach.
Has Dallenbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dallenbach went from 288 recorded bearers to 277. That is a decrease of 11 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #68,345 to #75,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Dallenbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dallenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Dallenbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (260 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dallenbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Dallenbach (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 Dallenbach mean?
A locational surname originating from the town of Dallenbach in Switzerland. 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 Dallenbach (0.09 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 Americans have the surname Dallenbach?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.