2010
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dobsch
From a German surname meaning "from Dubec," a place name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Dobsch. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dobsch 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Dobsch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dobsch
The surname "DOBSCH" has its origins traced back to Germany and Austria, where it emerged in the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "dobsch," which referred to a small valley or hollow. This suggests that the name was initially borne by individuals who resided in or near such geographical features.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Petri, a 12th-century manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria. This document mentions a certain "Heinricus Dobsch" as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1156.
In the following centuries, the name appeared in various records and documents across German-speaking regions. For instance, in the Wormser Bürgerbuch (Citizen's Book of Worms) from the 14th century, there is an entry for a "Hans Dobsch" who was a citizen of the city of Worms in the Holy Roman Empire.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the Dobsch surname was Johannes Dobsch (1499-1564), a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Nuremberg. He was a close associate of Philip Melanchthon and played a significant role in the Reformation movement in Germany.
Another prominent individual was Johann Georg Dobsch (1624-1698), an Austrian composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (chapel master) at the Benedictine monastery of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria. His works include sacred vocal compositions and instrumental pieces.
In the 18th century, the name Dobsch can be found in the records of the Herzogenburg Monastery in Lower Austria, where a certain Maria Anna Dobsch (1720-1780) is documented as a member of the religious community.
The 19th century saw the birth of Karl Dobsch (1852-1920), an Austrian architect and designer who gained recognition for his work on various buildings and structures in Vienna and other parts of Austria-Hungary.
Throughout its history, the surname Dobsch has also been associated with various place names and geographical locations, such as Dobschau (now Dobšiná in Slovakia), Dobschitz (now Dobčice in the Czech Republic), and Dobschau bei Warnsdorf (now Dubice in the Czech Republic). These place names likely derived from the same root word as the surname, reflecting the connection to small valleys or hollows in the landscape.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dobsch
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dobsch 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 Dobsch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 112
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dobsch
Dobsch 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
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-10 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 11,409 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 Dobsch 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 | #131,379 | #142,788 | -8.7% |
| Count | 129 | 119 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dobsch bearers went from 129 to 119 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 11,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #142,788.
FAQ
Dobsch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dobsch?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Dobsch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Dobsch?
Dobsch ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Dobsch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Dobsch.
Has Dobsch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dobsch went from 129 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Dobsch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Dobsch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dobsch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Dobsch (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 Dobsch mean?
From a German surname meaning "from Dubec," a place name of unknown meaning. 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 Dobsch (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 are called Dobsch?
See how many people have the surname Dobsch on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.