2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Didrickson
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Didrik" or "son of Theodoric".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Didrickson. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Didrickson 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Didrickson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Didrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.3%) and Two or More Races (11.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Didrickson
The surname Didrickson originates from Scandinavia, particularly Norway. It is derived from the Old Norse personal name Didrik, which is a variant of the German name Dietrich. The name Didrik is composed of the elements "diet" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "king," suggesting that the name was associated with leadership or nobility.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Didrickson can be traced back to the 13th century in Norway. Some of the earliest documented individuals with this surname include Didrik Aslaksson, a Norwegian chieftain and landowner mentioned in the Icelandic sagas from the late 13th century.
In the medieval period, the name Didrickson was found in various Norwegian records and manuscripts, often appearing as "Didriksson" or "Diderichson." One notable example is Didrik Pining, a wealthy Norwegian merchant and ship owner from Bergen, who lived in the late 14th century.
As the name spread across Scandinavia, it evolved into different spellings and variations, such as Didrichsen, Dideriksen, and Dittrichson. In Sweden, the name was sometimes spelled as Didriksson or Didrikssson.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in Denmark was Didrik Pedersen (1480-1554), a Lutheran reformer and theologian who played a significant role in the Danish Reformation. Another notable figure was Didrik Hegermann Lindencrone (1656-1696), a Danish naval officer and naval historian.
In the 19th century, Berta Didrickson (1862-1939) was a Norwegian-American immigrant who settled in Texas and became a prominent figure in the Norwegian-American community. Her daughter, Mildred Didriksen (later known as Babe Didrikson Zaharias) (1911-1956), was a renowned American athlete and Olympic champion.
Other notable individuals with the surname Didrickson include Knut Didricksen (1887-1962), a Norwegian sailor and polar explorer who participated in several Antarctic expeditions, and Finn Didrik Didriksen (1932-2020), a Norwegian businessman and industrialist who founded the Simrad electronics company.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Didrickson
Among Census respondents with the surname Didrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.3%) and Two or More Races (11.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Didrickson 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 Didrickson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native18.3% · 22
- Two or more races11.7% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Didrickson
Didrickson 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
#120,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
+19 bearers (+15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6,285 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-23 bearers (-16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,148 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,901 | 143 | 0.05 | +19 bearers (+15.3%) | Up 6,285 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.1%) | Down 21,148 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 Didrickson 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 | #120,901 | #142,049 | -17.5% |
| Count | 143 | 120 | -16.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Didrickson bearers went from 143 to 120 (-16.1% change). The surname moved down 21,148 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,901 to #142,049.
FAQ
Didrickson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Didrickson?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Didrickson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Didrickson?
Didrickson ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Didrickson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Didrickson.
Has Didrickson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Didrickson went from 143 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 23 (-16.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,901 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Didrickson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Didrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.3%) and Two or More Races (11.7%). 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 Didrickson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Didrickson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (18.3%), Two or More Races (11.7%). 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 Didrickson (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 Didrickson mean?
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Didrik" or "son of Theodoric". 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 Didrickson (0.04 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 surname Didrickson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.