2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dissen
A surname originating from a place name, likely a habitational name for someone from a place called Dissen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Dissen. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dissen 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Dissen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dissen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dissen
The surname DISSEN is of German origin, and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Lower Saxony region of northern Germany, where it was derived from the Old German word "diss", meaning "thistle". The name likely referred to an area where thistles grew abundantly, or may have been a nickname for someone who lived near such a place.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DISSEN surname can be found in the town records of Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, dating back to 1587. Here, a man named Hans DISSEN is listed as a landowner and farmer. The name also appears in various church records and tax rolls from the surrounding areas during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the 18th century, the DISSEN surname spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Denmark. Johann Friedrich DISSEN, a notable German classical scholar and philologist, was born in 1768 in Helmstedt, Lower Saxony. He is best known for his work on the ancient Greek playwright Pindar.
Another historically significant figure with the DISSEN surname was Karl Friedrich DISSEN, born in 1783 in Göttingen, Germany. He was a renowned jurist and author, and served as a legal advisor to the Kingdom of Hanover in the early 19th century.
The DISSEN name also has a connection to the city of Dissen, located in the district of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It is possible that the surname originated from this place name, although the exact etymology is unclear.
In the late 19th century, several individuals with the DISSEN surname emigrated from Germany to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada. One notable example is Wilhelm DISSEN, a German-American architect born in 1851, who designed several prominent buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Other notable figures with the DISSEN surname include Hermann DISSEN, a German philosopher and educator born in 1842, and Johann Gottfried DISSEN, a German classical scholar and author born in 1776.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dissen
Among Census respondents with the surname Dissen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Dissen 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 Dissen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 102
- Black or African American4.3% · 5
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dissen
Dissen 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-21 bearers (-16.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 30,048 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+13 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -21 bearers (-16.9%) | Down 30,048 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 12,206 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 Dissen 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 | #157,234 | #145,028 | 7.8% |
| Count | 103 | 116 | 12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 29.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dissen bearers went from 103 to 116 (+12.6% change). The surname moved up 12,206 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #145,028.
FAQ
Dissen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dissen?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Dissen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Dissen?
Dissen ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Dissen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Dissen.
Has Dissen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dissen went from 103 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 13 (+12.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Dissen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dissen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Dissen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dissen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Black (4.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Dissen (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 Dissen mean?
A surname originating from a place name, likely a habitational name for someone from a place called Dissen. 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 Dissen (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 share the surname Dissen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.