2000
#10,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,881
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Dittman
A German occupational surname referring to a village clerk or recorder of proceedings.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,955 Americans carry the last name Dittman. That puts it at #11,647 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,991 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dittman 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
3.0K
1 in 115,991
Census rank
#11,647
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,577 bearers of the surname Dittman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11647th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dittman
The surname Dittman originates from Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German personal name Dittmar, which is a combination of the elements diet (meaning "people") and mar (meaning "famous" or "renowned"). The name Dittmar was commonly found in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dittman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of documents related to the history of Saxony. In this codex, a person named Dittman von Hagen is mentioned in a document dated 1248. Another early record of the name appears in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Lübeck, a compilation of historical documents from the city of Lübeck, where a Dittman Kruse is listed in a document from 1312.
The name Dittman was also found in various place names across Germany, such as Dittmannsdorf, a village in Saxony, and Dittmannsried, a municipality in Bavaria. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Dittman who settled in those areas.
One notable individual with the surname Dittman was Johann Dittman (1677-1743), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. Another prominent figure was Johann Gottfried Dittman (1734-1806), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor at the University of Göttingen.
Other individuals with the surname Dittman include:
1. Hans Dittman (1506-1572), a German theologian and Protestant reformer.
2. Johann Wilhelm Dittman (1752-1821), a German theologian and writer.
3. Carl Friedrich Dittman (1795-1865), a German architect and urban planner.
4. Friedrich Dittman (1816-1888), a German painter and lithographer.
5. Heinrich Dittman (1892-1959), a German politician and member of the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.
While the surname Dittman is of German origin, it has since spread to other countries due to migration and various historical events. However, its roots can be traced back to the Germanic regions of medieval Europe, where it emerged as a personal name and later became a hereditary surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dittman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dittman 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 Dittman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,362
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 98
- Two or more races2.4% · 63
- Black or African American0.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dittman
Dittman 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
#10,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,892
+11 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 743 places
2020
#11,647
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,577
-315 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 649 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,255 | 2,881 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,998 | 2,892 | 0.98 | +11 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 743 places |
| 2020 | #11,647 | 2,577 | 0.86 | -315 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 649 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 Dittman 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 | #10,998 | #11,647 | -5.9% |
| Count | 2,892 | 2,577 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.86 | -12.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dittman bearers went from 2,892 to 2,577 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 649 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,998 to #11,647.
FAQ
Dittman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dittman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,955 living Americans carry the surname Dittman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,991 residents.
How common is Dittman?
Dittman ranks #11,647 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,577 people with the surname Dittman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,955), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dittman.
Has Dittman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dittman went from 2,892 recorded bearers to 2,577. That is a decrease of 315 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,998 to #11,647.
What does the Census say about the background of Dittman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Dittman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,362 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dittman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Dittman (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 Dittman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a village clerk or recorder of proceedings. 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 Dittman (0.86 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 last name Dittman?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Dittman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.