2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dermyer
Of German origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Dermyer or a similar name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Dermyer. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dermyer 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Dermyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dermyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dermyer
The surname Dermyer is believed to have originated in Germany or the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Germanic words "der" meaning "the" and "myer" or "meyer," which referred to a landowner or estate manager.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Neerlandicus, a collection of historical documents from the Netherlands dating back to the 11th century. In this collection, a man named Henricus Dermyer is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Friesland in the year 1157.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Annales Fuldenses, a medieval chronicle from the Frankish Empire. This text mentions a nobleman named Theodericus Dermyer who was involved in a dispute over land ownership in the year 841.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Johannes Dermyer is recorded as a merchant and landowner in the city of Aachen, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was born in 1312 and played a significant role in local politics and trade.
During the Renaissance period, the Dermyer family gained prominence in the region of Saxony, Germany. One notable individual was Wilhelm Dermyer, a scholar and theologian who was born in 1487 and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig.
In the 17th century, a Dutch painter named Pieter Dermyer (1632-1708) gained recognition for his landscapes and portraiture. He was born in Amsterdam and is considered one of the leading artists of the Dutch Golden Age.
Throughout history, the name Dermyer has been associated with various locations, including the town of Dermyer in the Rhineland region of Germany, and the village of Dermyer-op-den-Dijck in the Netherlands, which may have been named after members of the Dermyer family who owned land in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dermyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Dermyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dermyer 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 Dermyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dermyer
Dermyer 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+16 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,693 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-11 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,980 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 5,693 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 11,980 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 Dermyer 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 | #133,048 | #145,028 | -9.0% |
| Count | 127 | 116 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dermyer bearers went from 127 to 116 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 11,980 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #145,028.
FAQ
Dermyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dermyer?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Dermyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Dermyer?
Dermyer ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Dermyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Dermyer.
Has Dermyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dermyer went from 127 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Dermyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dermyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Dermyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dermyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Dermyer (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 Dermyer mean?
Of German origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Dermyer or a similar 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 Dermyer (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 many people have the surname Dermyer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.