2000
#12,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,199
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Dingus
Of Dutch origin, referring to someone who lived near a watercourse, canal, or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,401 Americans carry the last name Dingus. That puts it at #13,822 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,755 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dingus 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
2.4K
1 in 142,755
Census rank
#13,822
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,094 bearers of the surname Dingus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13822nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dingus
The surname Dingus is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands, likely during the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Scottish Gaelic phrase "dingnadh us," which translates roughly to "thrown out" or "expelled." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone who had been banished or cast out from their community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Parish Records of Inverness-shire, where a John Dingus is mentioned as a resident of the village of Drumnadrochit in 1642. A similar spelling, "Dingous," can be found in the Aberdeen Burgh Records from 1673, referring to a merchant named Robert Dingous.
In the late 17th century, a family by the name of Dingus is said to have settled in the village of Dornoch, located in the Scottish Highlands county of Sutherland. This branch of the family produced several notable individuals, including James Dingus (1712-1786), who served as the village's blacksmith for over 40 years.
As the Dingus family spread throughout Scotland and beyond, variations in spelling became more common. In the 1765 Parish Records of Argyll and Bute, a William Dingous is listed, while the 1841 Census of Scotland shows a family of Dingouses residing in the city of Glasgow.
One of the earliest instances of the name in England can be found in the London Parish Records of 1798, which mention a Thomas Dingus, a merchant from the Scottish Borders region. Another notable figure was John Dingus (1822-1896), a Scottish-born farmer who emigrated to Canada in the mid-19th century and settled in the province of Ontario.
Other individuals of note include:
1. Robert Dingus (1845-1921), an American Civil War veteran and farmer from West Virginia.
2. Mary Dingus (1880-1962), a Scottish-born author and poet who published several works in the early 20th century.
3. Edward Dingus (1901-1976), an American businessman and founder of the Dingus Lumber Company in Virginia.
4. George Dingus (1928-2005), a Scottish-Canadian artist and sculptor known for his abstract works.
5. Katherine Dingus (born 1962), an American journalist and author who has written extensively on topics related to science and technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dingus
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dingus 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 Dingus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,948
- Two or more races2.8% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 45
- Black or African American1.4% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dingus
Dingus 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
#13,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,324
+125 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 327 places
2020
#13,822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,094
-230 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 662 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,833 | 2,199 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,160 | 2,324 | 0.79 | +125 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 327 places |
| 2020 | #13,822 | 2,094 | 0.70 | -230 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 662 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 Dingus 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 | #13,160 | #13,822 | -5.0% |
| Count | 2,324 | 2,094 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.70 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dingus bearers went from 2,324 to 2,094 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 662 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,160 to #13,822.
FAQ
Dingus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dingus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,401 living Americans carry the surname Dingus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,755 residents.
How common is Dingus?
Dingus ranks #13,822 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,094 people with the surname Dingus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,401), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Dingus.
Has Dingus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dingus went from 2,324 recorded bearers to 2,094. That is a decrease of 230 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,160 to #13,822.
What does the Census say about the background of Dingus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dingus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) 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 Dingus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,948 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dingus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%), 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 Dingus (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 Dingus mean?
Of Dutch origin, referring to someone who lived near a watercourse, canal, or stream. 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 Dingus (0.70 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 Dingus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.