2000
#14,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,855
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Dinges
A German nickname meaning "thing" or "whatchamacallit," likely referring to an absent-minded or forgetful person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,093 Americans carry the last name Dinges. That puts it at #15,460 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,762 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dinges 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
2.1K
1 in 163,762
Census rank
#15,460
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,825 bearers of the surname Dinges in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15460th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dinges
The surname Dinges has its origins in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "ding," which means "thing" or "object." The name was likely used as a nickname or descriptive term for someone who was associated with a particular object or trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dinges surname can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a certain Hans Dinges was mentioned in 1567. Another early reference is in the parish records of the town of Essen, where a Johannes Dinges was born in 1592.
In the 17th century, the name began to appear in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia. During this time, variations in spelling also emerged, such as Dingess, Dingeß, and Dinges.
One notable individual with the Dinges surname was Johann Dinges, a German artist born in Nuremberg in 1663. He was known for his intricate engravings and woodcuts, many of which depicted religious scenes and landscapes.
In the 18th century, the Dinges family spread throughout Central Europe, with some members settling in regions of modern-day Poland and Austria. A prominent figure from this period was Friedrich Dinges, a German mathematician and astronomer who was born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in 1726 and made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
The 19th century saw the Dinges name appear in various historical records across Germany and neighboring countries. One example is Karl Dinges, a German philosopher and writer who was born in Heidelberg in 1843 and wrote extensively on topics related to ethics and social justice.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several individuals with the Dinges surname left Germany and settled in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Among the notable figures with the Dinges surname in more recent history was Otto Dinges, a German politician and member of the Nazi Party who served as the Gauleiter (regional leader) of Westphalia-South from 1933 to 1945.
While the Dinges surname may not be as widely recognized as some others, it has a long and rich history rooted in various regions of Germany and neighboring areas. Its origins and variations reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of Central Europe over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dinges
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dinges 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 Dinges surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 1,705
- Two or more races3.1% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dinges
Dinges 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
#14,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,084
+229 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 337 places
2020
#15,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,825
-259 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 1,104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,693 | 1,855 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,356 | 2,084 | 0.71 | +229 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 337 places |
| 2020 | #15,460 | 1,825 | 0.61 | -259 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 1,104 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 Dinges 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 | #14,356 | #15,460 | -7.7% |
| Count | 2,084 | 1,825 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.61 | -14.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dinges bearers went from 2,084 to 1,825 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 1,104 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,356 to #15,460.
FAQ
Dinges surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dinges?
Name Census estimates that about 2,093 living Americans carry the surname Dinges. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,762 residents.
How common is Dinges?
Dinges ranks #15,460 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,825 people with the surname Dinges. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,093), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Dinges.
Has Dinges become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dinges went from 2,084 recorded bearers to 1,825. That is a decrease of 259 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,356 to #15,460.
What does the Census say about the background of Dinges?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dinges in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (1,705 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dinges appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Dinges (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 Dinges mean?
A German nickname meaning "thing" or "whatchamacallit," likely referring to an absent-minded or forgetful person. 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 Dinges (0.61 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 people have the surname Dinges?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.