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

Diedrich, 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 Diedrich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Diedrich in America

Diedrich is the 8956th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Diedrich surname appeared 3,655 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 Diedrich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Diedrich 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 Diedrich

The surname Diedrich originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Dietrich, which is composed of the elements "diet" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "powerful." This name was popular among German nobility and royalty, and it is likely that the surname Diedrich emerged as a descriptive name for someone who held a position of authority or power.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the German town of Hameln, where a certain Diedrich von Hameln was mentioned in local records from the year 1569. This individual's name suggests a possible connection to the famous Pied Piper of Hamelin legend, although historical evidence is scarce.

In the 17th century, the name was also found in the Netherlands, where it appeared as Diederik or Diderik. This variation likely resulted from the Dutch influence in the region at the time, as well as the natural evolution of names across borders and languages.

One notable individual with the surname Diedrich was Johann Christian Wilhelm Diedrich, a German botanist and naturalist who lived from 1815 to 1885. He made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Germany and authored several influential works on the subject.

Another individual of note was Wilhelm Diedrich, a German politician and member of the Reichstag (the parliament of the German Empire) in the late 19th century. He was born in 1840 and played a role in the political landscape of his time.

In the realm of literature, there was Wilhelm Diedrich Haupt, a German philologist and scholar who lived from 1808 to 1878. He is known for his work on the study of ancient Greek texts and his contributions to the field of classical philology.

Moving into the 20th century, one prominent figure was Willy Diedrich, a German football player who represented Germany in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He played as a defender and was part of the team that won the bronze medal in the football tournament.

Another individual worth mentioning is Erich Diedrich, a German actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century. He was born in 1908 and had a successful career in the entertainment industry, particularly in his home country.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Diedrich

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

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

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

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