2000
#13,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Dehn
A German toponymic surname derived from places named Dehn or Dehne, likely referring to low-lying or swampy areas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,462 Americans carry the last name Dehn. That puts it at #13,535 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,218 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dehn 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
2.5K
1 in 139,218
Census rank
#13,535
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,147 bearers of the surname Dehn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13535th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dehn
The surname DEHN has its origins in Germany, and it is believed to have emerged as early as the 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "dehnen," which means "to stretch" or "to extend." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a stretch of land or was involved in some sort of stretching or extending activity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DEHN can be found in the town records of Nürnberg, Germany, dating back to 1289. In these records, a person named Hermannus Dehen is mentioned, which is likely an early variation of the spelling. This indicates that the name was already in use in the region during the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, the DEHN surname appears in the records of the city of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), which was then part of the Prussian region. A merchant named Hans Dehn is listed in the city's trade records from 1543, suggesting that the name had spread to other parts of Germany and the surrounding areas.
The name DEHN is also associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Dehn, a German mathematician who lived from 1799 to 1889. He is known for his contributions to the field of geometry, particularly in relation to the Dehn invariant and Dehn's lemma.
Another prominent figure with the DEHN surname was Richard Dehn, a German artist and printmaker who lived from 1884 to 1939. He was a member of the Expressionist movement and is known for his woodcut prints and lithographs depicting scenes from everyday life.
In the realm of literature, Max Dehn was a German writer and poet who lived from 1878 to 1952. He was part of the Naturalist movement and wrote several novels and collections of poetry that explored themes of nature and rural life.
Moving into the 20th century, Walter Dehn was a German-American architect who lived from 1888 to 1957. He is particularly known for his work in the Art Deco style, and he designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Brill Building and the Westbury Hotel.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Ernst Dehn, a German-American artist and illustrator who lived from 1899 to 1973. He is best known for his illustrations in children's books, including several editions of "The Wizard of Oz" series by L. Frank Baum.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dehn
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dehn 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 Dehn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 1,992
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 65
- Two or more races2.4% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- Black or African American0.8% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dehn
Dehn 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
#13,418
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,271
+110 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 413 places
2020
#13,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,147
-124 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,005 | 2,161 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,418 | 2,271 | 0.77 | +110 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 413 places |
| 2020 | #13,535 | 2,147 | 0.72 | -124 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 117 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 Dehn 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 | #13,418 | #13,535 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,271 | 2,147 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.72 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dehn bearers went from 2,271 to 2,147 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,418 to #13,535.
FAQ
Dehn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dehn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,462 living Americans carry the surname Dehn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,218 residents.
How common is Dehn?
Dehn ranks #13,535 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,147 people with the surname Dehn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,462), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dehn.
Has Dehn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dehn went from 2,271 recorded bearers to 2,147. That is a decrease of 124 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,418 to #13,535.
What does the Census say about the background of Dehn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Dehn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (1,992 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dehn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Dehn (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 Dehn mean?
A German toponymic surname derived from places named Dehn or Dehne, likely referring to low-lying or swampy areas. 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 Dehn (0.72 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 have the last name Dehn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Dehn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.