2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dessau
A toponymic surname derived from the city of Dessau in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Dessau. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dessau 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Dessau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dessau, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dessau
The surname Dessau originates from Germany, specifically the town of Dessau in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The name is derived from the German word "Desse," meaning a thicket or a dense forest, and the suffix "au," which refers to a meadow or a water meadow.
The town of Dessau dates back to the 10th century and was first mentioned in a document in 973 as "Dessuwa." This indicates that the surname Dessau likely emerged around this time period, possibly as a locational name for people from the town or a descriptive name for those living near the thickets or water meadows surrounding the area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dessau can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a nobleman named Henricus de Dessowe in 1284.
In the 16th century, the Dessau family rose to prominence in the city of Dessau, where they held influential positions as city councilors and merchants. Notable members include Johann Dessau (1530-1592), a respected merchant and alderman, and his son, Georg Dessau (1561-1627), who served as the mayor of Dessau.
The surname Dessau is also associated with the House of Anhalt-Dessau, a princely German family that ruled the Anhalt-Dessau principality from 1474 to 1853. One of the most notable figures from this family was Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (1676-1747), a renowned military leader and patron of the arts.
Another prominent individual with the surname Dessau was Hermann Dessau (1856-1931), a German historian and epigraphist known for his work on Roman inscriptions and the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum.
Other notable bearers of the surname Dessau include the German painter and engraver Wolf Dessau (1892-1975), the German jurist and legal scholar Hermann Dessau (1856-1931), and the German-American architect and designer Richard Dessau (1910-1998).
It is important to note that while the surname Dessau has its roots in Germany, it has also been adopted and used by individuals and families in other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchanges.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dessau
Among Census respondents with the surname Dessau, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dessau 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 Dessau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.8% · 85
- Black or African American26.7% · 32
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dessau
Dessau 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,164 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+7 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,152 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 12,164 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.2%) | Up 4,152 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 Dessau 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 | #146,201 | #142,049 | 2.8% |
| Count | 113 | 120 | 6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dessau bearers went from 113 to 120 (+6.2% change). The surname moved up 4,152 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #142,049.
FAQ
Dessau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dessau?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Dessau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Dessau?
Dessau ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Dessau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Dessau.
Has Dessau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dessau went from 113 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 7 (+6.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Dessau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dessau, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Dessau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dessau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.8%), Black (26.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Dessau (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 Dessau mean?
A toponymic surname derived from the city of Dessau in Germany. 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 Dessau (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 last name Dessau?
Find out how many people are called Dessau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.