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

Dietz, 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 Dietz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dietz in America

Dietz is the 1925th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dietz surname appeared 18,720 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 Dietz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dietz 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 Dietz

The surname Dietz originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It derived from the Germanic personal name Theodoric, which meant "ruler of the people" and was composed of the elements theud (people) and ric (ruler). The name evolved over time, taking on various spellings such as Dietz, Dietz, Ditz, and Thietz.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dietz can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, where a certain Theodoricus Dietz was mentioned in 1187. Additionally, the name appears in the Hirsauer Codex, a 12th-century manuscript from the Hirsau Abbey in Baden-Württemberg, referring to a landowner named Dietrich Dietz.

During the Middle Ages, the name Dietz was particularly prevalent in the regions of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Baden-Württemberg. It was often associated with certain place names, such as Dietzbach and Dietzenbach, which were likely named after individuals bearing the surname Dietz.

Notable individuals with the surname Dietz include Johann Dietz (1665-1738), a German Baroque composer and organist; Friedrich Dietz (1794-1876), a German theologian and author; Wilhelm Dietz (1843-1922), a German socialist and publisher; Mary Dietz (1925-2005), an American painter and sculptor; and Paul Dietz (1935-2022), a Canadian artist and illustrator.

Throughout history, the surname Dietz has been borne by various individuals from different walks of life, including scholars, artists, politicians, and religious figures. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Germany, the name has since spread across Europe and beyond, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dietz

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

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

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

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