2000
#21,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Disch
A German surname derived from the word "tisch" meaning table, possibly referring to a table maker or furniture builder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,268 Americans carry the last name Disch. That puts it at #23,658 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 270,311 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Disch 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
1.3K
1 in 270,311
Census rank
#23,658
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,106 bearers of the surname Disch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23658th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Disch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Disch
The surname DISCH originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the medieval German word "discho," meaning a dish or platter. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who made or sold dishes or pottery.
The earliest recorded instances of the DISCH surname date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. Historical records from this period, such as town registries and tax records, include mentions of individuals with the surname DISCH or similar spellings like Disch, Dische, and Discher.
One notable historical reference to the DISCH name can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of historical documents from the Brandenburg region of Germany, which includes mentions of individuals with the surname DISCH in the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the name DISCH appeared in the "Heidelberger Schöffenbücher," a series of legal records from the city of Heidelberg, indicating the presence of the DISCH family in that region during that time period.
Among the notable individuals with the DISCH surname throughout history are:
1. Johann Disch (1625-1680), a German Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony.
2. Johann Georg Disch (1694-1766), a German composer and organist from Thuringia.
3. Carl Disch (1812-1892), a German politician and member of the Prussian House of Representatives.
4. Robert Disch (1887-1973), a German-American artist and illustrator known for his work in advertising and magazine illustrations.
5. Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008), an American science fiction author and poet, best known for his novels "Camp Concentration" and "334."
The DISCH surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Dischingen, a town in Baden-Württemberg, and Dischau, a village in Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely derived from the same root word as the surname, further reinforcing the connection between the name and its potential origins in pottery or dishmaking.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Disch
Among Census respondents with the surname Disch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Disch 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 Disch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 1,034
- Two or more races2.4% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 15
- Black or African American0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Disch
Disch 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
#23,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,055
-55 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 2,088 places
2020
#23,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,106
+51 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Up 262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,832 | 1,110 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,920 | 1,055 | 0.36 | -55 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 2,088 places |
| 2020 | #23,658 | 1,106 | 0.37 | +51 bearers (+4.8%) | Up 262 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 Disch 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 | #23,920 | #23,658 | 1.1% |
| Count | 1,055 | 1,106 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.36 | 0.37 | 2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Disch bearers went from 1,055 to 1,106 (+4.8% change). The surname moved up 262 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,920 to #23,658.
FAQ
Disch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Disch?
Name Census estimates that about 1,268 living Americans carry the surname Disch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 270,311 residents.
How common is Disch?
Disch ranks #23,658 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,106 people with the surname Disch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Disch.
Has Disch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Disch went from 1,055 recorded bearers to 1,106. That is an increase of 51 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #23,920 to #23,658.
What does the Census say about the background of Disch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Disch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) 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 Disch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,034 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Disch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%), 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 Disch (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 Disch mean?
A German surname derived from the word "tisch" meaning table, possibly referring to a table maker or furniture builder. 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 Disch (0.37 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 Disch?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Disch, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.