2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dieteman
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "people's man" or "leader of the people".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Dieteman. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dieteman 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Dieteman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieteman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dieteman
The surname Dieteman originated in Germany in the late medieval period, likely between the 12th and 15th centuries. It is derived from the Germanic words "diet" meaning people or nation, and "man" referring to a person. The name was likely given to someone who was a leader or representative of their community or ethnic group.
In its earliest recorded form, the name was spelled "Diethmann" or "Dietmann." It is believed to have first appeared in historical records and manuscripts from the Holy Roman Empire, particularly in regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. However, there are no known references to the name in important historical documents like the Domesday Book.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Dieteman was Hans Dieteman, a merchant and burgher who lived in Nuremberg, Germany in the late 15th century. In the 16th century, Christoph Dieteman (1515-1578) was a notable Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Dieteman (1624-1697), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden. In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Dieteman (1732-1795) was a German engraver and printmaker from Augsburg.
During the 19th century, Karl Dieteman (1827-1905) was a German painter and art professor who worked in the Romantic style. He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and was known for his landscapes and historical scenes.
The surname Dieteman has also been associated with various place names and locations in Germany, such as the town of Dietmannsried in Bavaria, which likely took its name from an early bearer of the surname. However, the exact origins of these place names and their connections to the surname remain uncertain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dieteman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieteman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dieteman 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 Dieteman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 101
- Two or more races7.6% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dieteman
Dieteman 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,775 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 630 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 12,775 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 630 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 Dieteman 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 | #144,141 | #143,511 | 0.4% |
| Count | 115 | 118 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dieteman bearers went from 115 to 118 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 630 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #143,511.
FAQ
Dieteman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dieteman?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Dieteman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Dieteman?
Dieteman ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Dieteman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dieteman.
Has Dieteman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dieteman went from 115 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #144,141 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Dieteman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dieteman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Dieteman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dieteman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Two or More Races (7.6%), Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Dieteman (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 Dieteman mean?
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "people's man" or "leader of the people". 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 Dieteman (0.04 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 have the last name Dieteman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Dieteman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.