2000
#12,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,272
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Diederich
A German occupational surname derived from the personal name Theodoric, meaning "ruler of the people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,574 Americans carry the last name Diederich. That puts it at #13,061 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,160 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Diederich 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
2.6K
1 in 133,160
Census rank
#13,061
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,245 bearers of the surname Diederich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13061st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Diederich, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Diederich
The surname DIEDERICH has its roots in Germany, where it originated in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Theodoric or Dietrich, which is composed of the elements "theud" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "powerful". This name was popular among the Frankish and Germanic nobility during the Migration Period and the early Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name DIEDERICH can be traced back to the 8th and 9th centuries in various Germanic regions, such as the Rhineland and Franconia. It was often spelled with variations like Ditrich, Diterich, or Diedrich, reflecting regional dialects and scribal conventions of the time.
One notable historical reference to the name DIEDERICH is found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the Rhineland region. In a charter dated 888 AD, a nobleman named Diedrich von Worms is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.
As the name DIEDERICH spread throughout German-speaking regions, it became associated with various place names, such as Diederichshagen, Diederichshafen, and Diederichsweiler. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname who established settlements or held land in those areas.
Among the earliest known individuals with the surname DIEDERICH was Johann Diederich, a merchant and guild master in the city of Nuremberg, born around 1420. Another notable figure was Caspar Diederich, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Strasbourg, who lived from 1508 to 1586.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the DIEDERICH surname gained prominence through several notable figures, including:
1. Heinrich Diederich (1533-1618), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg.
2. Philipp Diederich (1564-1635), a German mathematician and astronomer from Giessen.
3. Johann Diederich (1576-1642), a German jurist and legal scholar from Frankfurt.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the DIEDERICH surname continued to be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in German-speaking communities in neighboring regions. Notable individuals from this period include:
1. Johann Friedrich Diederich (1720-1789), a German theologian and author from Saxony.
2. Christian Wilhelm Diederich (1789-1859), a German painter and engraver from Hamburg.
Throughout its history, the surname DIEDERICH has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, merchants, and noblemen. While its origins can be traced back to the early medieval period in Germany, the name has since spread and been adopted by families across different regions and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Diederich
Among Census respondents with the surname Diederich, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Diederich 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 Diederich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 2,127
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 60
- Two or more races1.9% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Diederich
Diederich 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
#13,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,322
+50 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 659 places
2020
#13,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,245
-77 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,507 | 2,272 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,166 | 2,322 | 0.79 | +50 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 659 places |
| 2020 | #13,061 | 2,245 | 0.75 | -77 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 105 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 Diederich 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 | #13,166 | #13,061 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,322 | 2,245 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.75 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Diederich bearers went from 2,322 to 2,245 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,166 to #13,061.
FAQ
Diederich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Diederich?
Name Census estimates that about 2,574 living Americans carry the surname Diederich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,160 residents.
How common is Diederich?
Diederich ranks #13,061 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,245 people with the surname Diederich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,574), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Diederich.
Has Diederich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Diederich went from 2,322 recorded bearers to 2,245. That is a decrease of 77 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,166 to #13,061.
What does the Census say about the background of Diederich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Diederich, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Diederich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (2,127 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Diederich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Diederich (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 Diederich mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the personal name Theodoric, meaning "ruler of the people." 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 Diederich (0.75 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 are called Diederich?
Find out how many people have the surname Diederich on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.