Dirst
A German surname meaning someone who came from a dry or barren place.
According to the 2000 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Dirst. That puts it at #133,114 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dirst 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.
Dirst appeared in the 2000 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#133,114
2000 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Dirst in its 2000 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133114th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dirst
The surname Dirst is believed to have its origins in Germany, emerging primarily in the medieval period, around the 12th to 14th centuries. The areas where this surname initially appeared include regions within Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The name is thought to be derived from an old German word "Durst," which means "thirst," possibly pointing to the characteristics or occupational undertakings of the ancestors, perhaps tied to tavern-keeping or wine-making.
Historical references to the surname Dirst are relatively rare but do exist in various regional records and church annals dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples is a Johan Durst, who appears in a Bavarian church register in 1387. This documentation suggests the movement of families with this surname through German-speaking Europe during and post the medieval era.
In addition to Johan Durst, another notable historical figure is Hans Dirst, a documented landholder in the region of Württemberg during the mid-16th century. His records, dated to around 1542, mark one of the few early land transaction documents where Dirst is mentioned. The spelling variations around this time included Durst and Dirstt, indicating regional linguistic influences and inconsistent orthography common in historical records.
During the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Dirst (1723–1791) was recorded as a notable member of the Bavarian rural community, particularly recognized for his contributions to agricultural advancements in his locality. His descendants are believed to have emigrated to other parts of Europe and beyond, spreading the surname further afield.
In the 19th century, a significant figure was Karl August Dirst (1810–1875), a German educator and author known for his works on early childhood education, which were influential in pedagogical circles of the time. His publications often signed with his surname helped in establishing the name's association with academic contributions.
Furthermore, the surname made its way across the Atlantic, with Heinrich Dirst (1835–1902), who emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. Settling in Pennsylvania, he became known for his work in local governance and community development. Heinrich's lineage contributes to the historical tapestry of the Dirst surname in the New World.
While the utilization of the surname Dirst is not as widespread as some others, its historical remnants in records and notable individuals demonstrate its enduring legacy from medieval Germany through to the modern era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dirst
Among Census respondents with the surname Dirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%.
The bar chart below shows how Dirst bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2000 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 Dirst surname at the time of the 2000 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2%
- Unknown or suppressed0.8%
FAQ
Dirst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dirst?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Dirst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Dirst?
Dirst ranks #133,114 in the 2000 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 2000 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Dirst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), 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 Dirst.
Has Dirst become more or less common over time?
Dirst appears here with 2000 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Dirst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. These figures come from the 2000 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 Dirst in the 2000 Census, accounting for 99.2%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dirst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2000 file are White (99.2%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Dirst appears here with 2000 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Dirst mean?
A German surname meaning someone who came from a dry or barren place. 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 2000 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 Dirst (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 Dirst?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.