2000
#37,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 566
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Dassow
A German surname derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 757 Americans carry the last name Dassow. That puts it at #36,479 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 452,780 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dassow 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
757
1 in 452,780
Census rank
#36,479
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
660
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 660 bearers of the surname Dassow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 36479th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dassow, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dassow
The surname Dassow has its origins in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, derived from the name of a town or village called Dassow located in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northern Germany.
The name Dassow itself is thought to have its roots in the Slavic language, specifically the Polabian dialect, which was spoken by the Slavic tribes that inhabited the region before the German colonization. The name is believed to be derived from the Polabian word "dąb," meaning oak, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near an oak forest or a place with a significant oak presence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dassow can be found in the church records of the town of Dassow itself, where a man named Hans Dassow was mentioned in a baptismal record from the year 1578. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Dassow, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Rostock in the late 16th century.
As the name spread across Germany over the centuries, it took on various spellings, such as Dassau, Dassauer, and Dassaw. One notable bearer of the name was Heinrich Dassow, a German painter and engraver who was born in Lübeck in 1765 and died in 1827. His works are housed in several museums across Germany and Europe.
Another prominent individual with the surname Dassow was Karl Dassow, a German composer and music teacher who lived from 1839 to 1909. He is best known for his contributions to the field of music education and his compositions for children's choirs.
In the 19th century, the name Dassow also made its way to the United States, with immigrants from Germany settling in various parts of the country. One notable American bearer of the name was William Dassow, a businessman and philanthropist who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1852 to 1934. He was instrumental in the development of the city's brewing industry and donated generously to various charitable causes.
While the name Dassow is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of German surnames, reflecting the history and cultural heritage of the regions from which it originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dassow
Among Census respondents with the surname Dassow, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dassow 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 Dassow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 615
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 22
- Two or more races1.8% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 7
- Black or African American0.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dassow
Dassow 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
#35,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 630
+64 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 1,423 places
2020
#36,479
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 660
+30 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 808 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #37,094 | 566 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,671 | 630 | 0.21 | +64 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 1,423 places |
| 2020 | #36,479 | 660 | 0.22 | +30 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 808 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 Dassow 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 | #35,671 | #36,479 | -2.3% |
| Count | 630 | 660 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.22 | 5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dassow bearers went from 630 to 660 (+4.8% change). The surname moved down 808 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,671 to #36,479.
FAQ
Dassow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dassow?
Name Census estimates that about 757 living Americans carry the surname Dassow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 452,780 residents.
How common is Dassow?
Dassow ranks #36,479 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.22 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 660 people with the surname Dassow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (757), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.22 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 Dassow.
Has Dassow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dassow went from 630 recorded bearers to 660. That is an increase of 30 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #35,671 to #36,479.
What does the Census say about the background of Dassow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dassow, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Dassow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (615 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dassow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Dassow (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 Dassow mean?
A German surname derived from a place name. 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 Dassow (0.22 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 are called Dassow?
If you just want to know how many people are called Dassow, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.