2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dilleshaw
The surname refers to someone living near a dill patch or dill field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Dilleshaw. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dilleshaw 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Dilleshaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dilleshaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dilleshaw
The surname DILLESHAW is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the early 13th century. It is thought to be derived from a combination of two Old English words, "dill" meaning a type of herb, and "shaw" meaning a small wooded area or grove. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked with dill plants in a small forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1230, which mentions a Richard de Dilleshaw. The "de" prefix indicates that the name was likely associated with a specific location or estate at that time.
In the 14th century, variations of the spelling began to appear, such as "Dilleshagh" and "Dillishawe." These were likely adaptations based on regional dialects and the changing pronunciation of the name over time.
While the DILLESHAW name does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to it in other historical documents from the Middle Ages. For example, a John Dyllyshaw is mentioned in the Court Rolls of Wigan in Lancashire from 1375.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Sir William Dilleshaw, a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. He was born around 1420 and served under the House of Lancaster.
Another prominent figure was Thomas Dilleshaw, a merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol in the late 16th century. He was born in 1549 and played a significant role in the city's trade and governance during his lifetime.
In the 17th century, a family of DILLESHAWs lived in the village of Hartwell, Northamptonshire. One member of this branch, Henry Dilleshaw, was a respected landowner and farmer who was born in 1632 and lived until 1701.
The 18th century saw the emergence of a DILLESHAW family in the county of Gloucestershire. One notable member was John Dilleshaw, a wealthy industrialist and mill owner who lived from 1725 to 1792.
In the 19th century, a branch of the DILLESHAW family settled in the United States, with records showing a William Dilleshaw arriving in New York in 1823 from England. His descendants went on to establish roots in various parts of the country, including Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dilleshaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Dilleshaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dilleshaw 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 Dilleshaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 11
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dilleshaw
Dilleshaw 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-8 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,501 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,355 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 15,501 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,355 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 Dilleshaw 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 | #141,140 | #146,495 | -3.8% |
| Count | 118 | 114 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dilleshaw bearers went from 118 to 114 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,355 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #146,495.
FAQ
Dilleshaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dilleshaw?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Dilleshaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Dilleshaw?
Dilleshaw ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Dilleshaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Dilleshaw.
Has Dilleshaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dilleshaw went from 118 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Dilleshaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dilleshaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Dilleshaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dilleshaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (9.6%), Black (1.8%). 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 Dilleshaw (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 Dilleshaw mean?
The surname refers to someone living near a dill patch or dill field. 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 Dilleshaw (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 common is the surname Dilleshaw?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Dilleshaw at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.