2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Deffinger
A surname possibly derived from a geographical feature or location name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Deffinger. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deffinger 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Deffinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deffinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deffinger
The surname Deffinger originated in Germany, with records dating back to the early 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "deffen," which means "to hum" or "to buzz." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational name for a beekeeper or someone who worked with bees.
The earliest known spelling of the name was "Deffinger," which was recorded in the town of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the year 1412. Other early spellings include "Deffinger," "Deffyngher," and "Deffynger."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Deffinger name can be found in the baptismal records of St. Michael's Church in Bamberg, Germany, where a child named Johann Deffinger was baptized in 1487.
In the 16th century, the name Deffinger appeared in various official records and manuscripts across Germany. For example, a man named Hans Deffinger was listed as a citizen of Nuremberg in 1532.
The Deffinger name has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded was Matthias Deffinger, a German theologian and author, who lived from 1529 to 1592.
Another notable figure was Johann Jakob Deffinger, a German poet and dramatist, who was born in 1688 and died in 1743. His works include the plays "Die Schatzgräber" (The Treasure Hunters) and "Die Eheverwandten" (The In-Laws).
In the 18th century, there was a German composer named Christian Gottlob Deffinger, who lived from 1735 to 1798. He was known for his church cantatas and other sacred works.
In the 19th century, a man named Friedrich Deffinger, born in 1815 and died in 1891, was a prominent German architect. He designed several notable buildings, including the Augsburg Town Hall and the St. Anna Church in Augsburg.
Another notable Deffinger was Wilhelm Deffinger, a German politician and lawyer who lived from 1843 to 1919. He served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) and was involved in drafting several important legal reforms.
While the Deffinger name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with some descendants migrating to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deffinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Deffinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Deffinger 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 Deffinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 96
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deffinger
Deffinger 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-24 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 31,935 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-5 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 31,935 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.8%) | Up 39 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 Deffinger 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 | #156,044 | #156,005 | 0.0% |
| Count | 104 | 99 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deffinger bearers went from 104 to 99 (-4.8% change). The surname moved up 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #156,005.
FAQ
Deffinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deffinger?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Deffinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Deffinger?
Deffinger ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Deffinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Deffinger.
Has Deffinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deffinger went from 104 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Deffinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deffinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Deffinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deffinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Two or More Races (2.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Deffinger (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 Deffinger mean?
A surname possibly derived from a geographical feature or location 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 Deffinger (0.03 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 Deffinger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.