2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Detlefs
A German surname derived from the Germanic personal name Detlev.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Detlefs. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Detlefs 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Detlefs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Detlefs, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Detlefs
The surname Detlefs is of German origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German words "diet" meaning "people" and "lef" meaning "remnant" or "descendant". The earliest known spelling variations included Detleff, Detlev, and Detlof.
In the 14th century, the Detlefs name appeared in various records and manuscripts in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Hamburg and Lübeck. One notable historical reference is found in the 1351 town records of Lübeck, which mention a merchant named Detleff Kruse.
The first recorded instance of the Detlefs surname can be found in a 1487 document from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which refers to a landowner named Hans Detlefs. During this period, the name was often associated with landed gentry and nobility in northern Germany.
In the 16th century, several place names in the region incorporated the name Detlefs, such as Detlefsen, a village in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, and Detlefshausen, a municipality in Lower Saxony. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Detlefs who were associated with those locations.
One of the earliest and most notable individuals with the Detlefs surname was Johann Detlefs (1573-1635), a German Lutheran theologian and philosopher who served as the rector of the University of Rostock. Another prominent figure was Ernst Detlefs (1654-1722), a German jurist and statesman who held the position of Chancellor of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp.
In the 18th century, Christian Detlefs (1737-1806) was a renowned German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Hamburg. Another notable individual from this period was Johann Friedrich Detlefs (1773-1828), a German author and educator who published numerous works on pedagogy.
During the 19th century, Wilhelm Detlefs (1817-1895) gained recognition as a German landscape painter and etcher, known for his depictions of rural scenes in northern Germany. Additionally, Theodor Detlefs (1845-1920) was a German businessman and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag (German parliament) from 1893 to 1898.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Detlefs
Among Census respondents with the surname Detlefs, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Detlefs 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 Detlefs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.7% · 4
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Detlefs
Detlefs 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+9 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 67 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 67 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 810 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 Detlefs 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 | #149,395 | #150,205 | -0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 109 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Detlefs bearers went from 110 to 109 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 810 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,205.
FAQ
Detlefs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Detlefs?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Detlefs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Detlefs?
Detlefs ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Detlefs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Detlefs.
Has Detlefs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Detlefs went from 110 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Detlefs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Detlefs, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Detlefs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Detlefs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Detlefs (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 Detlefs mean?
A German surname derived from the Germanic personal name Detlev. 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 Detlefs (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 are called Detlefs?
Want to know how many people have the last name Detlefs? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.