2000
#6,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,791
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.78
Rare Last name
Dingman
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a judge or arbiter, from the Middle English word "dingeman."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,299 Americans carry the last name Dingman. That puts it at #7,010 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,683 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dingman 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
5.3K
1 in 64,683
Census rank
#7,010
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,621 bearers of the surname Dingman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7010th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dingman
The surname Dingman has its origins in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the old German words "ding", meaning a court or assembly, and "mann", meaning man. The name likely referred to a person who worked as an officer or attendant at a local court or assembly.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dingman can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval manuscript from the region of Westphalia, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears as "Dingmanne" in this document.
The Dingman name was also present in other parts of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony, as evidenced by various historical records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. Some notable individuals with this surname include Johannes Dingman, a merchant from Hamburg born in 1510, and Hans Dingman, a farmer from the village of Dingmansrott near Cologne, mentioned in records from the late 16th century.
As the Dingman family spread across Europe, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Dingemann, Dingemann, and Dingmann. The name was also sometimes associated with certain place names, like Dingmansrade in the Netherlands and Dingmanshausen in Germany.
In the 17th century, several members of the Dingman family emigrated to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded Dingmans in America was Hendrick Dingman, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1654. Another notable figure was Jacob Dingman (1680-1762), a farmer and landowner in the Dutch settlement of Flatbush, Long Island.
Other prominent individuals with the Dingman surname include Johann Dingman (1816-1892), a German-American businessman and politician in Wisconsin, and William Dingman (1844-1916), a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who established the Dingman's Falls hydroelectric power plant in Ontario.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dingman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Dingman 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 Dingman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 4,207
- Two or more races3.8% · 177
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 165
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
- Black or African American0.4% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dingman
Dingman 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
#6,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,974
+183 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Down 249 places
2020
#7,010
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,621
-353 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Down 229 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,532 | 4,791 | 1.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,781 | 4,974 | 1.69 | +183 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 249 places |
| 2020 | #7,010 | 4,621 | 1.55 | -353 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 229 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 Dingman 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 | #6,781 | #7,010 | -3.4% |
| Count | 4,974 | 4,621 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.69 | 1.55 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dingman bearers went from 4,974 to 4,621 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 229 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,781 to #7,010.
FAQ
Dingman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dingman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,299 living Americans carry the surname Dingman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,683 residents.
How common is Dingman?
Dingman ranks #7,010 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,621 people with the surname Dingman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,299), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Dingman.
Has Dingman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dingman went from 4,974 recorded bearers to 4,621. That is a decrease of 353 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,781 to #7,010.
What does the Census say about the background of Dingman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Dingman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (4,207 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dingman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Dingman (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 Dingman mean?
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a judge or arbiter, from the Middle English word "dingeman." 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 Dingman (1.55 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 Dingman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.