2000
#20,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,206
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Din
A variant spelling of Deen, referring to a Muslim religious leader or teacher.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,210 Americans carry the last name Din. That puts it at #14,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,092 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Din 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Din with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,092
Census rank
#14,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,927 bearers of the surname Din in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Din, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 78.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Din
The surname Din is of Chinese origin and can be traced back to the 8th century AD. It is believed to have originated in the Guangdong province of southern China, where it was initially a single-character surname derived from the Chinese character "丁", meaning "nail" or "fourth son".
In ancient China, the use of single-character surnames was common among the lower classes and commoners. As the surname spread and families grew, additional characters were often added to differentiate different branches of the Din lineage.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Din surname can be found in the historical records of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), where it appears in official documents and manuscripts. During this period, the name was primarily concentrated in the coastal regions of Guangdong and Fujian provinces.
As the Din clan expanded and individuals migrated to other parts of China, the surname underwent various orthographic variations, with spellings such as Ding, Teng, and Ting emerging in different regions.
Notably, in the 12th century, a prominent scholar and official named Din Zhenzhong (丁振中, 1092-1163) held high positions in the imperial court during the Song Dynasty. His achievements and contributions to the field of literature and civil service helped further establish the Din surname's reputation.
Another notable figure was Din Baozhen (丁宝桢, 1820-1886), a military leader and strategist who played a crucial role in the Taiping Rebellion, one of the bloodiest civil wars in Chinese history.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Din surname gained prominence in the literary and artistic circles of Suzhou, a city renowned for its cultural heritage. One such figure was Din Yunpeng (丁云鹏, 1547-1628), a celebrated poet and calligrapher whose works were widely admired.
In the 18th century, Din Guangpeng (丁观澎, 1738-1818) was a prominent scholar and official who made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomy during the Qing Dynasty.
Another notable individual was Din Wenzao (丁文藻, 1828-1898), a renowned diplomat and statesman who played a pivotal role in negotiating treaties and strengthening China's international relations during the late Qing period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Din
Among Census respondents with the surname Din, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 78.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Din 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 Din surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander78.8% · 1,519
- White8.4% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 136
- Two or more races4.2% · 80
- Black or African American1.5% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Din
Din 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
#17,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,650
+444 bearers (+36.8%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Up 3,287 places
2020
#14,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,927
+277 bearers (+16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 2,386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,456 | 1,206 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,169 | 1,650 | 0.56 | +444 bearers (+36.8%) | Up 3,287 places |
| 2020 | #14,783 | 1,927 | 0.64 | +277 bearers (+16.8%) | Up 2,386 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 Din 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 | #17,169 | #14,783 | 13.9% |
| Count | 1,650 | 1,927 | 16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.56 | 0.64 | 15.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Din bearers went from 1,650 to 1,927 (+16.8% change). The surname moved up 2,386 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,169 to #14,783.
FAQ
Din surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Din?
Name Census estimates that about 2,210 living Americans carry the surname Din. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,092 residents.
How common is Din?
Din ranks #14,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,927 people with the surname Din. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,210), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Din.
Has Din become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Din went from 1,650 recorded bearers to 1,927. That is an increase of 277 (+16.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,169 to #14,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Din?
Among Census respondents with the surname Din, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 78.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Din in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (1,519 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Din appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (78.8%), White (8.4%), Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Din (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 Din mean?
A variant spelling of Deen, referring to a Muslim religious leader or teacher. 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 Din (0.64 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 Din?
Find out how common the surname Din is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.