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

Dierks, 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 Dierks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dierks in America

Dierks is the 17300th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dierks surname appeared 1,636 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 Dierks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dierks 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 Dierks

The surname Dierks is of German origin, derived from the personal name Diederich, which is a Germanic compound name composed of the elements "diet" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "power". It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dierks can be found in the Würzburg census of 1305, where a certain Heinricus Dierks is listed as a resident of the city. In the 15th century, the name appeared in various church records and legal documents across the northern German states, with spellings such as Dierks, Diercks, and Dierkx.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Dierks was Hans Dierks (1501-1572), a German merchant and alderman from the city of Lübeck. He played a significant role in the city's trade and political affairs during his lifetime.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann Dierks (1677-1737), a German theologian and author from Holstein. He wrote several religious treatises and served as a pastor in various parishes throughout his career.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dierks surname was particularly prevalent in the northern German regions of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Lower Saxony. Many individuals with this surname were recorded in church and civil records of these areas.

One notable example from this time period is Joachim Dierks (1738-1819), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Kiel. He was widely respected for his contributions to the field of jurisprudence and authored several influential legal texts.

In the 19th century, the Dierks surname could also be found in various parts of the Netherlands, particularly in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen, due to the historical connections and migrations between the Low German regions.

As the Dierks family spread across different parts of Europe and beyond, the surname underwent various spelling variations, including Dierks, Diercks, Dierx, Dierckx, and Dierckse. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Germanic personal name Diederich.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dierks

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

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

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

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