2000
#18,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,388
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.51
Rare Last name
Dietrick
An occupational surname referring to a ruler of people or government official.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,373 Americans carry the last name Dietrick. That puts it at #22,107 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 249,639 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dietrick 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
1.4K
1 in 249,639
Census rank
#22,107
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,197 bearers of the surname Dietrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22107th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dietrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dietrick
The surname Dietrick has its origins in Germany, originating in the late medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Theodric, which is composed of the elements "theudo" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "powerful." The name was initially Diederich or Diedrich in German but evolved into various spellings, including Dietrick and Dittrich.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dietrick can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former Principality of Anhalt in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Bürgerregister (citizen register) of the city of Nürnberg in Bavaria, Germany, from the 15th century.
Dietrick was a relatively common surname among the German nobility and aristocracy during the Middle Ages. One notable figure bearing this name was Dietrich von Bern, a legendary hero from the German epic poem "Nibelungenlied," which dates back to around 1200 AD. In reality, Dietrich von Bern was likely inspired by the historical figure Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths who ruled in Italy from 493 to 526 AD.
Another prominent individual with the surname Dietrick was Johann Konrad Dietrich Dietrick (1684-1720), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg. He is known for his contributions to the development of the organ concerto genre.
In the 16th century, the surname Dietrick was also found in the Netherlands, particularly in the region of Friesland. One notable bearer of the name from this area was Sibrand Lubberts Dietrick (1571-1636), a Frisian naval officer and explorer who served in the Dutch East Indies.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Dietrick began to spread beyond Germany and the Netherlands, as people with this name immigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One example is Johann Dietrick (1756-1836), a German-American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Throughout its history, the surname Dietrick has undergone various spelling variations, including Dietrich, Dittrich, Diedrich, and Diederick, among others. However, the core meaning and etymology of the name remain rooted in its Germanic origins, reflecting the concepts of leadership and power.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dietrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Dietrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dietrick 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 Dietrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 1,102
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 40
- Two or more races2.8% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 11
- Black or African American0.8% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dietrick
Dietrick 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
#18,007
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,550
+162 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Up 382 places
2020
#22,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,197
-353 bearers (-22.8%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 4,100 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,389 | 1,388 | 0.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,007 | 1,550 | 0.53 | +162 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 382 places |
| 2020 | #22,107 | 1,197 | 0.40 | -353 bearers (-22.8%) | Down 4,100 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 Dietrick 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 | #18,007 | #22,107 | -22.8% |
| Count | 1,550 | 1,197 | -22.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.40 | -24.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dietrick bearers went from 1,550 to 1,197 (-22.8% change). The surname moved down 4,100 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,007 to #22,107.
FAQ
Dietrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dietrick?
Name Census estimates that about 1,373 living Americans carry the surname Dietrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 249,639 residents.
How common is Dietrick?
Dietrick ranks #22,107 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,197 people with the surname Dietrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,373), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Dietrick.
Has Dietrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dietrick went from 1,550 recorded bearers to 1,197. That is a decrease of 353 (-22.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,007 to #22,107.
What does the Census say about the background of Dietrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dietrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Dietrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (1,102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dietrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Dietrick (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 Dietrick mean?
An occupational surname referring to a ruler of people or government official. 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 Dietrick (0.40 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 Dietrick?
See how many Americans have the surname Dietrick on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.