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

Dicken, 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 Dicken surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dicken in America

Dicken is the 12351st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dicken surname appeared 2,517 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Dicken.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dicken 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 Dicken

The surname Dicken is of English origin, derived from the medieval diminutive of the personal name Richard. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk.

Dicken is believed to have evolved from the Old English "Ricarding," which later became "Dikening" or "Dicconing" before taking on the more modern spelling of Dicken. The name is thought to have originated as a descriptive nickname, referring to someone who was a son or descendant of a person named Richard.

One of the earliest known references to the name Dicken can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, which mentions a "William Diken." Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1327 record a "Richard Diken."

In the 15th century, the surname Dicken appeared in various forms, such as "Dycken," "Dykyn," and "Dyckyn," reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation during that era.

Among the notable individuals with the surname Dicken throughout history are John Dicken (1568-1638), an English Puritan minister and author, and William Dicken (1615-1688), a prominent English Quaker and writer.

Another noteworthy figure was Thomas Dicken (1732-1798), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of Admiral. In the literary world, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the renowned English novelist and social critic, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the name, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

Other individuals of note include William Dicken (1851-1923), a British trade unionist and Labour politician, and Richard Dicken (1892-1975), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century.

While the surname Dicken may have evolved over time and taken on various spellings, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in England, where it emerged as a descriptive nickname derived from the popular personal name Richard.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dicken

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

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

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

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