2000
#112,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Deardorf
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "dear village" or "precious village".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Deardorf. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deardorf 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Deardorf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deardorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deardorf
The surname Deardorf originated in Germany in the 16th century. It is believed to have been derived from the German words "der dorf", meaning "the village". The name likely referred to someone who lived in a particular village or hamlet.
The earliest known record of the name Deardorf dates back to 1567 in the town of Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. A farmer named Hans Deardorf was mentioned in a local census record from that year.
In the 17th century, the name began to appear in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Saxony, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate. During this time, the spelling variations included Deardorff, Deerndorff, and Derendorf.
One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Deardorf, a Protestant minister who lived in the town of Marburg, Hesse, in the late 1600s. He was known for his fiery sermons against the Catholic Church during the religious conflicts of the era.
As the Deardorf family spread across Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries, some members of the clan emigrated to other parts of Europe and North America. In 1792, a man named Friedrich Deardorf settled in the Russian village of Norka, near the Volga River. His descendants became part of the ethnic German community in Russia.
In the United States, the first recorded instance of the name Deardorf was in 1812, when a family of that surname arrived in Pennsylvania from Germany. Over time, the name spread to other states, including Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
One famous American bearer of the Deardorf name was William Deardorf (1862-1937), a businessman and politician from Ohio. He served as the mayor of Cleveland from 1920 to 1923.
Another notable Deardorf was Alfred Deardorf (1892-1972), a German-American engineer who contributed to the development of early television technology. He worked for companies such as RCA and Philco Corporation.
In more recent times, the Deardorf surname has been found in various parts of the world, including Canada, Australia, and South Africa, reflecting the global migration patterns of families with this name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deardorf
Among Census respondents with the surname Deardorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Deardorf 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 Deardorf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 108
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deardorf
Deardorf 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
-23 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,962 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,943 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,365 | 145 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 24,962 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 6,943 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 Deardorf 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 | #137,327 | #144,270 | -5.1% |
| Count | 122 | 117 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deardorf bearers went from 122 to 117 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 6,943 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #144,270.
FAQ
Deardorf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deardorf?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Deardorf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Deardorf?
Deardorf ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Deardorf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Deardorf.
Has Deardorf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deardorf went from 122 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Deardorf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deardorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Deardorf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deardorf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Deardorf (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 Deardorf mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "dear village" or "precious village". 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 Deardorf (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 common is the surname Deardorf?
You can see how many people have the last name Deardorf on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.