Detsch last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Detsch

A surname of German origin meaning "German" or "of German descent".

Detsch, 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 Detsch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Detsch in America

Detsch is the 139228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Detsch surname appeared 120 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 Detsch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Detsch 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 139228 127948 8.44%
Count 120 123 -2.47%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.05 -22.22%

The history of the last name Detsch

The surname DETSCH has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "dietsch," which referred to the Germanic language spoken in central and southern Germany. This term was often used to distinguish native German speakers from those who spoke Slavic or Romance languages.

The earliest known record of the name DETSCH appears in a manuscript from the city of Nuremberg, dated 1532. This document mentions a certain Hans Detsch, a merchant dealing in textiles. The name was also present in the town records of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a family by the name of Detsch resided in the late 16th century.

One notable bearer of the surname was Johann Detsch, a renowned clockmaker from Augsburg, who lived from 1625 to 1697. His intricate and ornate clocks were highly sought after by European nobility and are now considered masterpieces of the era.

In the 18th century, the DETSCH name appeared in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One prominent individual was Friedrich Detsch, a military officer who served in the Prussian army during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).

The 19th century saw the name spread further across Europe, with some DETSCH families migrating to neighboring countries such as Austria and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was Karl Detsch, a German-born sculptor who lived from 1808 to 1876 and was best known for his works adorning several churches in Vienna.

As Germans immigrated to other parts of the world, the DETSCH surname traveled with them. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the 1850 census, which listed a family of DETSCH immigrants from Bavaria living in Ohio.

Throughout its history, the DETSCH surname has been associated with various occupations, from merchants and artisans to military personnel and artists. While not an exceptionally common name, it has left its mark across various regions and historical periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Detsch

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

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 Detsch was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.50% 117
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Detsch has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.50% 96.75% 0.77%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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 Detsch was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Detsch last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 11, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/detsch-surname-popularity/.

"Detsch last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/detsch-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 July, 2025

Detsch last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/detsch-surname-popularity/.

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