2000
#4,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,091
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.00
Rare Last name
Dellinger
A German occupational surname referring to a carver of wooden roof shingles or a carpenter specializing in tiling.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,286 Americans carry the last name Dellinger. That puts it at #4,747 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dellinger 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
8.3K
1 in 41,365
Census rank
#4,747
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,226 bearers of the surname Dellinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4747th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dellinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dellinger
The surname Dellinger is of German origin, traced back to the 13th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "dellen," meaning "valley" or "dell," combined with the suffix "-ing," indicating a place of origin or residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dellinger can be found in the Bavarian town of Mindelheim's town records from the year 1317, where a certain "Cunrat Dellinger" is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various chronicles and records across southern Germany, often associated with individuals involved in agricultural pursuits or land ownership. For instance, a "Hans Dellinger" is listed as a farmer in the village of Großaitingen near Augsburg in 1562.
The name Dellinger also has ties to certain place names, such as the village of Dellingen in Bavaria, which may have contributed to the development of the surname. Furthermore, variations in spelling, such as "Tellinger" and "Delinger," were not uncommon in historical records due to regional dialects and scribal practices.
Notable individuals with the surname Dellinger throughout history include Johann Dellinger (1624-1697), a German theologian and author from Nuremberg, known for his work "Compendium Theologicum." Another prominent figure was Christoph Dellinger (1734-1802), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.
In the 19th century, Johann Nepomuk Dellinger (1808-1876) was a renowned German Catholic theologian and writer from Bamberg, who played a significant role in the debates surrounding papal infallibility during the First Vatican Council.
Other noteworthy individuals with this surname include Hans Dellinger (1486-1545), a German painter and woodcarver active in Augsburg during the Renaissance, and Friedrich Dellinger (1895-1981), a German military officer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dellinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Dellinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Dellinger 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 Dellinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 6,697
- Two or more races3.3% · 236
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 180
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 48
- Black or African American0.5% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dellinger
Dellinger 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
#4,422
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,040
-51 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 392 places
2020
#4,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,226
-814 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 325 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,030 | 8,091 | 3.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,422 | 8,040 | 2.73 | -51 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 392 places |
| 2020 | #4,747 | 7,226 | 2.42 | -814 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 325 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 Dellinger 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 | #4,422 | #4,747 | -7.3% |
| Count | 8,040 | 7,226 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.73 | 2.42 | -11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dellinger bearers went from 8,040 to 7,226 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 325 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,422 to #4,747.
FAQ
Dellinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dellinger?
Name Census estimates that about 8,286 living Americans carry the surname Dellinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,365 residents.
How common is Dellinger?
Dellinger ranks #4,747 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,226 people with the surname Dellinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,286), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Dellinger.
Has Dellinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dellinger went from 8,040 recorded bearers to 7,226. That is a decrease of 814 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,422 to #4,747.
What does the Census say about the background of Dellinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dellinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Dellinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (6,697 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dellinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Dellinger (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 Dellinger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a carver of wooden roof shingles or a carpenter specializing in tiling. 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 Dellinger (2.42 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 share the surname Dellinger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.