2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Disterhaft
A surname potentially derived from a German place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Disterhaft. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Disterhaft 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Disterhaft in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Disterhaft, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Disterhaft
The surname DISTERHAFT is believed to have originated in the German regions of Central Europe during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "dister" meaning "thistle" and "haft" meaning "enclosure" or "field", potentially referring to an area or settlement known for its abundance of thistles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a compilation of historical documents from the region of Saxony, where a certain Hennig Disterhaft is mentioned in a land transaction dating back to 1487. This suggests that the name was well-established in this area by the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Johann Disterhaft, a scholar and theologian born in Wittenberg in 1524. He is known for his contributions to the Protestant Reformation, having studied under Martin Luther and later serving as a professor of theology at the University of Jena until his death in 1587.
Another historical reference to the name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Augsburg, where a family by the name of Disterhaft is mentioned as early as the 1620s. These records often provide valuable insights into the genealogy and migration patterns of families from this era.
In the 18th century, a prominent individual with this surname was Karl Friedrich Disterhaft, a German soldier and military engineer who served in the Prussian army during the Seven Years' War. Born in 1728 in Saxony, he was renowned for his expertise in fortifications and played a crucial role in the construction of several defensive structures along the Prussian borders.
Another notable figure from the 19th century was Elise Disterhaft, a German writer and activist born in 1842 in the city of Dresden. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and education, publishing numerous works that challenged the traditional gender roles of her time.
Throughout its history, the surname DISTERHAFT has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as Disterhaft, a small village in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Disterhaftsberg, a hill located in the same region. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Disterhaft
Among Census respondents with the surname Disterhaft, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Disterhaft 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 Disterhaft surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 5
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Disterhaft
Disterhaft appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,030 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 4,030 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 Disterhaft 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 | #159,712 | #155,682 | 2.5% |
| Count | 101 | 100 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Disterhaft bearers went from 101 to 100 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,030 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #155,682.
FAQ
Disterhaft surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Disterhaft?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Disterhaft. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Disterhaft?
Disterhaft ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Disterhaft. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Disterhaft.
Has Disterhaft become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Disterhaft went from 101 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Disterhaft?
Among Census respondents with the surname Disterhaft, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Disterhaft in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Disterhaft appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Disterhaft (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 Disterhaft mean?
A surname potentially derived from a German place name. 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 Disterhaft (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Disterhaft?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.