2000
#1,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,538
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.87
Uncommon Last name
Diehl
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of planks or floorboards.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,779 Americans carry the last name Diehl. That puts it at #1,944 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Diehl 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
21K
1 in 16,495
Census rank
#1,944
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,120 bearers of the surname Diehl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1944th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Diehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Diehl
The surname Diehl originated in Germany during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Low German word "diel," which means "valley" or "dell." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name likely lived in or near a valley or dell.
The Diehl surname is first recorded in the 13th century in the region of Saxony, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Some of the earliest known spellings of the name include Dil, Dyle, and Dihle. These variations likely arose due to regional dialect differences and the lack of standardized spelling at the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Diehl surname was Henricus Dihle, who was mentioned in a document from the city of Erfurt in 1285. Another early bearer of the name was Konrad von Dyle, who was a landowner in the village of Waltersdorf, near Leipzig, in the late 13th century.
The Diehl name can also be found in various medieval records and manuscripts, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony. This indicates that the surname was well-established in the area during the Middle Ages.
One notable individual with the Diehl surname was Johann Diehl (1470-1545), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was involved in the translation of the Bible into German.
Another notable figure was Johann Diehl (1670-1738), a German artist and engraver who was known for his etchings and engravings depicting landscapes and architectural scenes. His works can be found in various museums and collections across Europe.
In the 18th century, Johann Diehl (1744-1809) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and published numerous works on astronomy and mathematics.
Toward the end of the 19th century, Gustav Diehl (1845-1913) was a German archaeologist and historian who specialized in the study of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. He conducted excavations in various sites across the Mediterranean region and published several influential works on classical antiquity.
In the 20th century, one notable individual with the Diehl surname was Charles Diehl (1859-1944), a French historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of the Byzantine Empire. His seminal work, "Byzantine Monuments," published in 1925, remains a valuable resource for scholars studying Byzantine art and architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Diehl
Among Census respondents with the surname Diehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Diehl 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 Diehl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 16,783
- Two or more races2.9% · 517
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 494
- Black or African American0.9% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 120
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Diehl
Diehl 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
#1,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,815
+277 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 6.38
Rank movement Down 144 places
2020
#1,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,120
-695 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 6.06
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,772 | 18,538 | 6.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,916 | 18,815 | 6.38 | +277 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 144 places |
| 2020 | #1,944 | 18,120 | 6.06 | -695 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 28 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 Diehl 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 | #1,916 | #1,944 | -1.5% |
| Count | 18,815 | 18,120 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 6.38 | 6.06 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Diehl bearers went from 18,815 to 18,120 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,916 to #1,944.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Diehl
FAQ
Diehl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Diehl?
Name Census estimates that about 20,779 living Americans carry the surname Diehl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,495 residents.
How common is Diehl?
Diehl ranks #1,944 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,120 people with the surname Diehl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,779), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Diehl.
Has Diehl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Diehl went from 18,815 recorded bearers to 18,120. That is a decrease of 695 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,916 to #1,944.
What does the Census say about the background of Diehl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Diehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Diehl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (16,783 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Diehl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Diehl (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 Diehl mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of planks or floorboards. 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 Diehl (6.06 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 share the surname Diehl?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.