2000
#13,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Diemer
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made sieves or worked as a sieve maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,390 Americans carry the last name Diemer. That puts it at #13,878 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,412 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Diemer 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
2.4K
1 in 143,412
Census rank
#13,878
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,084 bearers of the surname Diemer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13878th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Diemer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Diemer
The surname DIEMER originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Low German word "dimer," which means a small dike or dam. This suggests that the name was likely associated with people who lived near or worked on dikes or dams.
In the 14th century, the name DIEMER appeared in various historical records in the region of Lower Saxony, particularly in the areas around the cities of Bremen and Hamburg. The spelling variations included "Dimer," "Dymer," and "Dymmer."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DIEMER can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from Bremen, dating back to 1348. The name is mentioned in connection with a landowner named Hinrich Diemer.
In the 15th century, the DIEMER surname began to spread to other parts of Germany, including Westphalia and the Rhineland. During this time, the name was also associated with several noble families, such as the Diemers of Paderborn.
Notable individuals with the surname DIEMER throughout history include Johann Diemer (1492-1559), a German theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, and Hans Diemer (1524-1588), a renowned German architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Augsburg.
In the 17th century, Andreas Diemer (1628-1689) was a prominent German mathematician and astronomer from Saxony, known for his contributions to the development of logarithmic tables.
The 18th century saw the birth of Johann Jakob Diemer (1732-1789), a German painter and engraver from Mannheim, whose works are held in various museums and collections across Europe.
Another notable figure was Wilhelm Diemer (1876-1953), a German-American chemist who played a significant role in the development of artificial sweeteners, including the discovery of saccharin.
Throughout its history, the surname DIEMER has been associated with various occupations and professions, including landowners, architects, artists, scientists, and scholars, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Diemer
Among Census respondents with the surname Diemer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Diemer 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 Diemer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 1,956
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 53
- Two or more races2.4% · 49
- Black or African American0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Diemer
Diemer 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
#13,991
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,154
+43 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 735 places
2020
#13,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,084
-70 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,256 | 2,111 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,991 | 2,154 | 0.73 | +43 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 735 places |
| 2020 | #13,878 | 2,084 | 0.70 | -70 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 113 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 Diemer 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 | #13,991 | #13,878 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,154 | 2,084 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.70 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Diemer bearers went from 2,154 to 2,084 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,991 to #13,878.
FAQ
Diemer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Diemer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,390 living Americans carry the surname Diemer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,412 residents.
How common is Diemer?
Diemer ranks #13,878 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,084 people with the surname Diemer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,390), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Diemer.
Has Diemer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Diemer went from 2,154 recorded bearers to 2,084. That is a decrease of 70 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,991 to #13,878.
What does the Census say about the background of Diemer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Diemer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Diemer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (1,956 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Diemer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Diemer (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 Diemer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made sieves or worked as a sieve maker. 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 Diemer (0.70 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 Diemer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.