2000
#14,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,881
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Dingler
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of small decorative objects or trinkets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,085 Americans carry the last name Dingler. That puts it at #15,509 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,391 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dingler 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 164,391
Census rank
#15,509
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,818 bearers of the surname Dingler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15509th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dingler
The surname Dingler is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the southern regions, during the late Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the German word "dingeln," which means "to dangle" or "to swing." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an occupation or trade involving something that dangled or swung, such as a bell-ringer or a maker of wind chimes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dingler can be found in a 15th-century document from the city of Nuremberg, which mentions a certain Hans Dingler. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by that time.
Dingler is also a name that appears in some historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries. For instance, a Johann Dingler is mentioned in a 1567 church register from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, while a Christoph Dingler is listed in a 1632 tax record from the city of Augsburg.
During the 18th century, the name Dingler seems to have spread more widely across southern Germany and into neighboring regions. One notable figure from this period was Johann Georg Dingler (1778-1855), a German publisher and editor who founded the influential technical journal "Dinglers Polytechnisches Journal."
In the 19th century, the Dingler surname can be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in some areas of what is now Austria and Switzerland. One prominent individual with this name was Hugo Dingler (1881-1954), a German philosopher and logician who made significant contributions to the field of epistemology.
Another noteworthy person with the Dingler surname was the German engineer and inventor Rudolf Dingler (1889-1967), who is best known for his work on automotive suspension systems and his development of the Dingler-Strasse, a type of road surface designed for quieter and smoother driving.
Throughout its history, the Dingler surname has also been found in various spellings, such as Dingler, Dingeler, and Dingeller, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dingler
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dingler 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 Dingler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 1,678
- Two or more races3.1% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 54
- Black or African American0.8% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dingler
Dingler 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
#14,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,030
+149 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 126 places
2020
#15,509
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,818
-212 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 853 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,530 | 1,881 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,656 | 2,030 | 0.69 | +149 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 126 places |
| 2020 | #15,509 | 1,818 | 0.61 | -212 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 853 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 Dingler 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 | #14,656 | #15,509 | -5.8% |
| Count | 2,030 | 1,818 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.61 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dingler bearers went from 2,030 to 1,818 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 853 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,656 to #15,509.
FAQ
Dingler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dingler?
Name Census estimates that about 2,085 living Americans carry the surname Dingler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,391 residents.
How common is Dingler?
Dingler ranks #15,509 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 1,818 people with the surname Dingler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,085), 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 Dingler.
Has Dingler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dingler went from 2,030 recorded bearers to 1,818. That is a decrease of 212 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,656 to #15,509.
What does the Census say about the background of Dingler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Dingler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (1,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dingler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Dingler (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 Dingler mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of small decorative objects or trinkets. 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 Dingler (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 common is the surname Dingler?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Dingler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.