2000
#6,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,544
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.68
Rare Last name
Dicks
An English surname derived from the given name Richard or Dick, a diminutive form of Richard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,563 Americans carry the last name Dicks. That puts it at #7,985 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 75,116 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dicks 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Dicks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 75,116
Census rank
#7,985
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,979 bearers of the surname Dicks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7985th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dicks, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dicks
The surname Dicks originated in England in the medieval period, derived from the nickname "Dick", a diminutive form of the given name Richard. The name Richard came from the Germanic elements "ric" (ruler) and "hard" (brave, hardy). The use of diminutive nicknames like Dick was a common practice in medieval times.
The earliest known record of the surname Dicks can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Dik". The Hundred Rolls were administrative records compiled in the 13th century, documenting individuals who held land and their feudal obligations.
In the 14th century, the name is recorded in various spellings, including "Dyk", "Dyke", and "Dycke", in tax rolls and court records from counties like Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. These variations likely reflect regional dialect differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Dycke, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1384. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the Exchequer, detailing tax assessments and payments.
Several place names in England, such as Dickleburgh in Norfolk and Dickens Heath in Solihull, are believed to have derived from the surname Dicks or its variants, reflecting the influence of early bearers of the name in those areas.
Notable historical figures with the surname Dicks include Sir Michael Dicks (1570-1628), a prominent English merchant and member of the Honourable Artillery Company in London. Another was Thomas Dicks (1628-1695), an English Baptist minister and author who published several religious works during the 17th century.
In the 18th century, John Dicks (1720-1801) was a renowned English printer and publisher, known for producing affordable editions of literary works for the working class. His son, Robert Dicks (1765-1846), continued the family publishing business and was also a respected bookseller in London.
William Dicks (1815-1887) was a prominent English educator and author, serving as the headmaster of the South London Grammar School and writing several textbooks on subjects like mathematics and geography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dicks
Among Census respondents with the surname Dicks, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dicks 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 Dicks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.7% · 2,576
- Black or African American27.3% · 1,087
- Two or more races4.0% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dicks
Dicks 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
#7,831
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,228
-316 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 1,007 places
2020
#7,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,979
-249 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 154 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,824 | 4,544 | 1.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,831 | 4,228 | 1.43 | -316 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 1,007 places |
| 2020 | #7,985 | 3,979 | 1.33 | -249 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 154 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 Dicks 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 | #7,831 | #7,985 | -2.0% |
| Count | 4,228 | 3,979 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.33 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dicks bearers went from 4,228 to 3,979 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 154 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,831 to #7,985.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dicks
FAQ
Dicks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dicks?
Name Census estimates that about 4,563 living Americans carry the surname Dicks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 75,116 residents.
How common is Dicks?
Dicks ranks #7,985 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,979 people with the surname Dicks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,563), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dicks.
Has Dicks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dicks went from 4,228 recorded bearers to 3,979. That is a decrease of 249 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,831 to #7,985.
What does the Census say about the background of Dicks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dicks, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dicks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.7% (2,576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dicks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.7%), Black (27.3%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dicks (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 Dicks mean?
An English surname derived from the given name Richard or Dick, a diminutive form of Richard. 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 Dicks (1.33 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 Americans have the surname Dicks?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.