2000
#150,436
National surname rank
First available Census row
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Derheim or Dehrheim.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Derheimer. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Derheimer 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Derheimer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Derheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
The surname Derheimer is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was likely derived from the German words "der" meaning "the" and "Heimer" meaning "homestead" or "village." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a particular village or hamlet.
One of the earliest known records of the name Derheimer can be found in the church registers of the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Derheimer was documented as a resident in the year 1567. The spelling of the name has remained relatively consistent over the centuries, with minor variations such as "Derhaimer" or "Derheimmer" appearing in some historical documents.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Derheimer name gained prominence in various parts of Germany. In 1692, a Johann Derheimer was recorded as a respected merchant in the city of Frankfurt, while a family of Derheimers resided in the town of Augsburg, where they owned a successful brewery in the late 1700s.
Notable individuals bearing the Derheimer surname include Friedrich Derheimer (1802-1876), a German philosopher and educator who authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy. Another notable figure was Anna Derheimer (1865-1942), a renowned painter and sculptor from Munich, whose works were exhibited in galleries across Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the realm of literature, the name Derheimer is associated with the German novelist and poet, Gustav Derheimer (1827-1897), who gained critical acclaim for his historical novels set in medieval Germany. His most famous work, "The Chronicles of Nuremberg," published in 1873, remains a celebrated piece of German literature.
While the Derheimer name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. In the United States, for instance, the first recorded instance of the name dates back to the late 18th century, when a family of Derheimers settled in the state of Pennsylvania.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Derheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Derheimer 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 Derheimer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Derheimer 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.
2000
National surname rank
First available Census row
2010
National surname rank
+11 bearers (+11.0%)
2020
National surname rank
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 2,089 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 1,126 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
How has the Derheimer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #148,347 | #147,221 | 0.8% |
| Count | 111 | 113 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Derheimer bearers went from 111 to 113 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 1,126 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #147,221.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Derheimer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
Derheimer ranks #147,221 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.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Derheimer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
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 Derheimer.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Derheimer went from 111 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 2 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #147,221.
Among Census respondents with the surname Derheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Derheimer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (108 people in the source table).
Derheimer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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.
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 Derheimer (2000, 2010, 2020).
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.
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.
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Derheim or Dehrheim. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Derheimer (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.
You can see how many people have the last name Derheimer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.