2000
#7,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,071
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Detweiler
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or repaired spinning wheels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,508 Americans carry the last name Detweiler. That puts it at #5,866 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,667 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Detweiler 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
6.5K
1 in 52,667
Census rank
#5,866
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,675 bearers of the surname Detweiler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5866th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Detweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Detweiler
The surname Detweiler is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "diot" meaning people and "wil" meaning settlement, essentially referring to a settlement of common people. The name first emerged in the region of southwestern Germany, particularly around the areas of the Rhine River and the Black Forest.
The earliest known recorded instances of the name Detweiler date back to the 13th century in various German municipal records and chronicles. One notable mention is in the Heidelberg Manuscript of 1276, where a "Hermannus Dietwiler" is listed among the townspeople of a small village near present-day Freiburg.
In the 14th century, variations of the name such as "Diechwiler" and "Dyetwiler" appeared in various regions of Germany, indicating the spread and evolution of the surname. The name was also found in some early Swiss records, suggesting migration and settlement patterns.
During the Middle Ages, the name Detweiler was associated with several prominent figures. One such individual was Johann Detweiler (1490-1562), a German scholar and theologian who authored several works on religious teachings. Another notable bearer of the name was Hans Detweiler (1535-1612), a respected craftsman and woodcarver from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
As the centuries progressed, the Detweiler name continued to spread across various parts of Europe, with some individuals emigrating to other regions and countries. One such example is Christoph Detweiler (1672-1738), a German immigrant who settled in the British colony of Pennsylvania in the early 18th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Detweiler include:
1. Heinrich Detweiler (1826-1898), a Swiss politician and member of the National Council.
2. Gottfried Detweiler (1870-1944), a German-born American architect known for his work in Cincinnati.
3. Anna Detweiler (1881-1962), an American educator and advocate for women's rights.
4. Rudolph Detweiler (1901-1980), a Swiss-American engineer and inventor, credited with developing the first successful helicopter rotor system.
5. Richard Detweiler (1909-1978), an American film producer and director, known for his work on several notable Hollywood productions in the 1940s and 1950s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Detweiler
Among Census respondents with the surname Detweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Detweiler 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 Detweiler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 5,522
- Two or more races1.0% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 21
- Black or African American0.3% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Detweiler
Detweiler 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
#6,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,119
+1,048 bearers (+25.7%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Up 919 places
2020
#5,866
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,675
+556 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Up 750 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,535 | 4,071 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,616 | 5,119 | 1.74 | +1,048 bearers (+25.7%) | Up 919 places |
| 2020 | #5,866 | 5,675 | 1.90 | +556 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 750 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 Detweiler 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 | #6,616 | #5,866 | 11.3% |
| Count | 5,119 | 5,675 | 10.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.90 | 9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Detweiler bearers went from 5,119 to 5,675 (+10.9% change). The surname moved up 750 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,616 to #5,866.
FAQ
Detweiler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Detweiler?
Name Census estimates that about 6,508 living Americans carry the surname Detweiler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,667 residents.
How common is Detweiler?
Detweiler ranks #5,866 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,675 people with the surname Detweiler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,508), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Detweiler.
Has Detweiler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Detweiler went from 5,119 recorded bearers to 5,675. That is an increase of 556 (+10.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,616 to #5,866.
What does the Census say about the background of Detweiler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Detweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%) 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 Detweiler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (5,522 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Detweiler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Two or More Races (1.0%), 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 Detweiler (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 Detweiler mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or repaired spinning wheels. 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 Detweiler (1.90 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 Detweiler?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Detweiler at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.