2000
#13,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Didier
A French surname derived from the personal name Didier, meaning "desired" or "beloved."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,722 Americans carry the last name Didier. That puts it at #12,473 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,920 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Didier 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
2.7K
1 in 125,920
Census rank
#12,473
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,374 bearers of the surname Didier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12473rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Didier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The earliest recorded instances of the surname Didier can be found in various historical documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in regions of northern and eastern France, particularly in Burgundy, Champagne, and Lorraine.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."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Didier
Among Census respondents with the surname Didier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Didier 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 Didier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 2,005
- Black or African American6.4% · 152
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 115
- Two or more races2.9% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Didier
Didier 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
#13,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,188
+70 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 595 places
2020
#12,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,374
+186 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 1,342 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,220 | 2,118 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,815 | 2,188 | 0.74 | +70 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 595 places |
| 2020 | #12,473 | 2,374 | 0.79 | +186 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 1,342 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 Didier 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 | #13,815 | #12,473 | 9.7% |
| Count | 2,188 | 2,374 | 8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.79 | 7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Didier bearers went from 2,188 to 2,374 (+8.5% change). The surname moved up 1,342 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,815 to #12,473.
FAQ
Didier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Didier?
Name Census estimates that about 2,722 living Americans carry the surname Didier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,920 residents.
How common is Didier?
Didier ranks #12,473 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,374 people with the surname Didier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,722), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Didier.
Has Didier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Didier went from 2,188 recorded bearers to 2,374. That is an increase of 186 (+8.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,815 to #12,473.
What does the Census say about the background of Didier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Didier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Didier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (2,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Didier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (6.4%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Didier (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 Didier mean?
A French surname derived from the personal name Didier, meaning "desired" or "beloved." 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 Didier (0.79 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 have the last name Didier?
Find out how many people have the last name Didier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.