2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dieckow
From a Slavic placename derived from "dąb", meaning oak.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Dieckow. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dieckow 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Dieckow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieckow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dieckow
The surname DIECKOW originated in the German region of Pomerania, an area located along the Baltic Sea coast of what is now northern Germany and western Poland. It first emerged in the 13th or 14th century as a locational name, derived from a place name containing the Germanic root "diek," meaning "ditch" or "dyke." This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a dyke or drainage ditch.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DIECKOW name appears in the 1492 Pomeranian church records of Stralsund, where a Hans Dieckow is mentioned. In the 16th century, the spelling "Dieckow" was well-established, as evidenced by records from the town of Franzburg mentioning a Christoffer Dieckow in 1558.
During the 17th century, the DIECKOW name spread beyond Pomerania as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. In 1623, a Joachim Dieckow is recorded as living in the town of Bernau in Brandenburg. Later that century, a Peter Dieckow was born in 1679 in the Prussian village of Schönfeld.
One notable bearer of the DIECKOW name was Johann Dieckow, a Pomeranian farmer and landowner who lived from 1712 to 1788. Johann is mentioned in several historical land records and tax registers from the region around Stralsund during the mid-18th century.
As the DIECKOW name continued to disperse in the 19th century, it appeared in various parts of Germany and Europe. Carl Dieckow, born in 1822 in the Prussian town of Dramburg, became a respected educator and school administrator in the region. Another Carl Dieckow, born in 1839 in the Prussian province of Posen, was a noted theologian and author who wrote extensively on Lutheranism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dieckow
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieckow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dieckow 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 Dieckow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 96
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dieckow
Dieckow 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-13 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 23,875 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,957 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 23,875 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 4,957 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 Dieckow 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 | #159,712 | #154,755 | 3.1% |
| Count | 101 | 102 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dieckow bearers went from 101 to 102 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,957 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #154,755.
FAQ
Dieckow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dieckow?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Dieckow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Dieckow?
Dieckow ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Dieckow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Dieckow.
Has Dieckow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dieckow went from 101 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Dieckow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieckow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Dieckow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dieckow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Dieckow (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 Dieckow mean?
From a Slavic placename derived from "dąb", meaning oak. 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 Dieckow (0.03 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 Dieckow?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.