Find out how popular the last name Derstine is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Derstine.

Derstine, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Derstine surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Derstine in America

Derstine is the 24260th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Derstine surname appeared 1,034 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Derstine.

We can also compare 2010 data for Derstine to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Derstine

The surname Derstine originated in the German state of Hesse in the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "der" meaning "the" and "stein" meaning "stone," potentially referring to someone who lived near a prominent stone or worked as a stonemason.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Derstine appears in the church records of Besse, a village in Hesse, where a man named Hans Derstine was recorded as a resident in 1598. The spelling "Derstine" is thought to be a variation of the more common German surname "Derstein."

In the 17th century, many Derstines immigrated to Pennsylvania, where they were among the early German settlers known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. One of the first Derstines to arrive in America was Johann Derstine, who was born in 1682 and settled in Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1717.

A notable early figure with the Derstine surname was Jacob Derstine (1716-1796), who was a Mennonite preacher and farmer in Pennsylvania. He played a significant role in the establishment of the Mennonite community in the region.

Another prominent individual with the Derstine name was Abraham H. Derstine (1833-1911), a Mennonite bishop and author from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He wrote several books on Mennonite history and theology, including "The History of the Mennonites of Upper District of Franconia" and "The Doctrine of Non-Resistance."

In the 19th century, the Derstine surname was also found in other parts of the United States, including Ohio and Indiana. One notable bearer of the name was William H. Derstine (1850-1919), a farmer and politician from Ohio who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Other notable individuals with the Derstine surname include John E. Derstine (1846-1924), a businessman and philanthropist from Pennsylvania, and Ralph B. Derstine (1894-1964), a professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania.

While the Derstine name is most commonly associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch community, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration and family connections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Derstine

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Derstine.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Derstine was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Derstine has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Derstine was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Derstine, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!