2000
#11,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,568
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Dillinger
A surname of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Thilo, meaning "people mighty."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,767 Americans carry the last name Dillinger. That puts it at #12,305 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,872 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dillinger 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
2.8K
1 in 123,872
Census rank
#12,305
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,413 bearers of the surname Dillinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12305th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dillinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dillinger 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 Dillinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 2,217
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 75
- Two or more races2.9% · 71
- Black or African American1.0% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dillinger
Dillinger 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
#11,248
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,811
+243 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 43 places
2020
#12,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,413
-398 bearers (-14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 1,057 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,291 | 2,568 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,248 | 2,811 | 0.95 | +243 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 43 places |
| 2020 | #12,305 | 2,413 | 0.81 | -398 bearers (-14.2%) | Down 1,057 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 Dillinger 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 | #11,248 | #12,305 | -9.4% |
| Count | 2,811 | 2,413 | -14.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.81 | -15.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dillinger bearers went from 2,811 to 2,413 (-14.2% change). The surname moved down 1,057 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,248 to #12,305.
FAQ
Dillinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dillinger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,767 living Americans carry the surname Dillinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,872 residents.
How common is Dillinger?
Dillinger ranks #12,305 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,413 people with the surname Dillinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,767), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dillinger.
Has Dillinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dillinger went from 2,811 recorded bearers to 2,413. That is a decrease of 398 (-14.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,248 to #12,305.
What does the Census say about the background of Dillinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Dillinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (2,217 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dillinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Dillinger (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 Dillinger mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Thilo, meaning "people mighty." 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 Dillinger (0.81 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 Americans have the surname Dillinger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.