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

Dillinger, 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 Dillinger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dillinger in America

Dillinger is the 11248th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dillinger surname appeared 2,811 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 Dillinger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dillinger 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 Dillinger

The surname Dillinger is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "dill" meaning dill plant or herb. It likely originated as a occupational surname for someone who cultivated or traded in dill, similar to other German surnames like Müller (miller) or Schmidt (blacksmith).

The earliest recorded instances of the name Dillinger can be traced back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the southern German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. In old German records and manuscripts, the name was sometimes spelled as Dillinger, Dillenger, or Dillinger.

One of the earliest known references to the Dillinger name appears in a 1568 land registry record from the town of Memmingen in Bavaria, which mentions a certain Hans Dillinger owning a small plot of land. Another early mention is found in a 1592 church record from the village of Unterbalbach in Baden-Württemberg, where a Johannes Dillinger is listed as a witness to a baptism.

Over time, the name spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas through German immigration. Notable individuals with the Dillinger surname include Johann Dillinger (1604-1669), a Baroque composer and organist from Hesse, and Johann Jakob Dillinger (1777-1832), a German-Swiss painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits.

Perhaps the most famous bearer of the Dillinger name was John Dillinger (1903-1934), the notorious American bank robber and gangster who was active during the Great Depression. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and gained notoriety for a string of daring bank robberies and prison escapes before being shot and killed by FBI agents in Chicago.

Other notable individuals with the Dillinger surname include Hans Dillinger (1880-1942), an Austrian politician and member of the Christian Social Party, and Herbert Dillinger (1906-1986), a German-American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Dillinger Transfer Company in Baltimore, Maryland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dillinger

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

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

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

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