2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Diny
A surname potentially derived from the French diminutive form of the given name "Dionysius."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Diny. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Diny 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Diny in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Diny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Diny
The surname DINY has its origins in the Normandy region of northern France, first appearing in records from the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "dinee," which referred to a small village or hamlet. The name may have originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived in such a settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DINY can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry lists a Norman knight named Raoul de Diny, who held lands in Gloucestershire.
By the 13th century, the name had spread to other parts of Europe, including England, where it appeared in various spellings such as Dyny, Dinye, and Dynye. One notable example is Sir John Dyny, a wealthy merchant and Member of Parliament for the city of Bristol in the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the DINY name can be found in records from the Netherlands, where it was sometimes spelled as Dinie or Dini. A prominent figure from this period was Pieter Diny, a Dutch artist and engraver born in 1520 who was known for his intricate etchings and woodcuts.
The name also has a presence in the historical records of Spain, where it is believed to have derived from the Catalan word "dinyar," meaning "to dine" or "to feast." One noteworthy individual was Domingo Diny, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
In the 17th century, the DINY surname made its way to the New World, with several bearers of the name settling in the British colonies of North America. One such individual was Thomas Diny, a Puritan colonist who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 and later served as a selectman in the town of Ipswich.
Other notable figures throughout history who bore the DINY surname include Jacques Diny, a French author and poet born in 1718; Maria Diny, an Italian opera singer active in the late 18th century; and Wilhelm Diny, a German philosopher and educator who lived from 1801 to 1876.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Diny
Among Census respondents with the surname Diny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Diny 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 Diny surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Diny
Diny 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,996 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+6 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,497 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 7,996 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.9%) | Up 7,497 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 Diny 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 | #158,432 | #150,935 | 4.7% |
| Count | 102 | 108 | 5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Diny bearers went from 102 to 108 (+5.9% change). The surname moved up 7,497 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #150,935.
FAQ
Diny surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Diny?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Diny. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Diny?
Diny ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Diny. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Diny.
Has Diny become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Diny went from 102 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 6 (+5.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Diny?
Among Census respondents with the surname Diny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Diny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Diny appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Hispanic (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Diny (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 Diny mean?
A surname potentially derived from the French diminutive form of the given name "Dionysius." 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 Diny (0.04 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 Diny?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.