2000
#12,705
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,232
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Dittmar
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "diet" (people) and "mar" (famous).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,431 Americans carry the last name Dittmar. That puts it at #13,685 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,993 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dittmar 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
2.4K
1 in 140,993
Census rank
#13,685
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,120 bearers of the surname Dittmar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13685th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittmar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dittmar
The surname Dittmar has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Dietmar, which is a combination of the elements "diet" meaning "people" and "mar" meaning "famous" or "renowned."
The earliest known bearers of the name Dittmar lived in the region of Saxony, where the name was first documented in the 13th century. It later spread to other parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Thuringia.
In medieval times, the Dittmar surname was associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Dittmar von Kyburg, a 13th-century Swiss nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the conflicts between the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss Confederacy.
Another prominent bearer of the Dittmar name was Johann Dittmar, a 16th-century German theologian and reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther. He was born in 1499 in Saxony and played a crucial role in spreading the ideas of the Protestant Reformation.
In the 17th century, Georg Dittmar, a German astronomer, made significant contributions to the study of comets and celestial bodies. He was born in 1609 in Saxony and published several works on astronomy, including a treatise on the great comet of 1680.
During the 18th century, Christian Wilhelm Dittmar, a German botanist and naturalist, gained recognition for his research on plant taxonomy and his extensive collection of botanical specimens. He was born in 1734 in Thuringia and authored several books on plants and their classification.
In more recent times, Gunther Dittmar, a German physicist and professor, made notable contributions to the field of nuclear physics. He was born in 1927 and played a significant role in the development of nuclear particle accelerators and the study of nuclear reactions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dittmar
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittmar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dittmar 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 Dittmar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 1,930
- Two or more races3.8% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 23
- Black or African American0.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dittmar
Dittmar 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
#13,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,188
-44 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,110 places
2020
#13,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,120
-68 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,705 | 2,232 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,815 | 2,188 | 0.74 | -44 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 1,110 places |
| 2020 | #13,685 | 2,120 | 0.71 | -68 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 130 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 Dittmar 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 | #13,815 | #13,685 | 0.9% |
| Count | 2,188 | 2,120 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.71 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dittmar bearers went from 2,188 to 2,120 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 130 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,815 to #13,685.
FAQ
Dittmar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dittmar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,431 living Americans carry the surname Dittmar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,993 residents.
How common is Dittmar?
Dittmar ranks #13,685 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,120 people with the surname Dittmar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Dittmar.
Has Dittmar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dittmar went from 2,188 recorded bearers to 2,120. That is a decrease of 68 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,815 to #13,685.
What does the Census say about the background of Dittmar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dittmar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Dittmar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (1,930 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dittmar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Dittmar (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 Dittmar mean?
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "diet" (people) and "mar" (famous). 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 Dittmar (0.71 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 Dittmar?
Find out how many people have the surname Dittmar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.