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

Didier, 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 Didier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Didier in America

Didier is the 13815th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Didier surname appeared 2,188 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 Didier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Didier 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 Didier

The surname Didier originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Deodat or Deodatus, which means "given by God" or "God's gift." The name Deodatus was widely used in ancient Roman times and later spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Didier can be found in various historical documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in regions of northern and eastern France, particularly in Burgundy, Champagne, and Lorraine. It is believed that the name may have been introduced to these areas by Germanic settlers during the migrations of the Early Middle Ages.

One of the earliest documented examples of the surname Didier is found in the medieval cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Bénigne in Dijon, Burgundy, where a certain Girardus Diderius was mentioned in a charter dated 1170. Another early reference is in the Cartulary of the Abbey of Gorze in Lorraine, which records a Theodericus Diderius in the year 1224.

The surname Didier has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Dideyr, Dideyr, Dydier, and Dydyer. These variations often reflected regional dialects and scribal practices of the time. Additionally, the name may have been influenced by the Old French word "didier," which meant "to instruct" or "to teach," possibly indicating an occupation or personal characteristic.

Notable individuals with the surname Didier throughout history include:

1. Jean Didier (c. 1470-1540), a French composer and theorist from Savoy, known for his treatise on music theory titled "Le Premier Livre de Musique."

2. Hugues Didier (c. 1550-1628), a French Jesuit priest and mathematician, who made significant contributions to the study of optics and the theory of lenses.

3. François Didier (1616-1689), a French Benedictine monk and historian, known for his work "Histoire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Bénigne de Dijon."

4. Michel Didier (1766-1837), a French military officer who served under Napoleon Bonaparte and was awarded the Legion of Honor for his bravery in the Napoleonic Wars.

5. Edmond Didier (1838-1913), a French writer and journalist, known for his works on the history and culture of Normandy, including "La Normandie illustrée" and "Les Normands aux Croisades."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Didier

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

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

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

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