Diehl last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Diehl

A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of planks or floorboards.

Diehl, 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 Diehl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Diehl in America

Diehl is the 1916th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Diehl surname appeared 18,815 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Diehl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Diehl 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1916 1772 7.81%
Count 18,815 18,538 1.48%
Proportion per 100k 6.38 6.87 -7.40%

The history of the last name 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be found in various medieval records and manuscripts, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony.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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Diehl

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

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 Diehl was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.23% 17,918
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.76% 143
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.44% 83
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 73
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.09% 205
Hispanic Origin 2.08% 391

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 Diehl has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.23% 96.50% -1.32%
Black 0.76% 0.70% 8.22%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.44% 0.31% 34.67%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 0.28% 32.84%
Two or More Races 1.09% 0.89% 20.20%
Hispanic 2.08% 1.32% 44.71%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Diehl last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 2, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/diehl-surname-popularity/.

"Diehl last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/diehl-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 December, 2024

Diehl last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/diehl-surname-popularity/.

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