2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Doerle
A German surname derived from a place name referring to a dweller near a Thüringer village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Doerle. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Doerle 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Doerle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Doerle, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Doerle
The surname Doerle is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the German word "dörfer," which means "villages" or "small settlements." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to identify someone who lived in a particular village or group of villages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Doerle can be found in the town records of Freiburg im Breisgau, a city in the southwest of Germany, dating back to the 15th century. The name was spelled as "Dörle" in these records, which was likely a localized variation of the more common spelling.
In the 16th century, the Doerle surname appears in various historical documents from the region of Saxony, in eastern Germany. This includes records from the city of Leipzig, where a Johann Doerle was listed as a merchant in the year 1542.
During the 17th century, the name Doerle began to spread beyond the borders of Germany. Records show individuals with this surname living in neighboring countries such as Austria and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was Hans Doerle, a Swiss clockmaker born in Basel in 1623, who was renowned for his intricate timepiece designs.
As the centuries progressed, the Doerle name continued to be prevalent in various parts of Europe. In the 19th century, a German painter named Karl Doerle (1807-1892) gained recognition for his landscape paintings, which often depicted scenes from the Black Forest region.
Other notable individuals bearing the Doerle surname include the German composer and musician Max Doerle (1870-1943), who composed several operas and symphonic works, and the Austrian writer and journalist Franz Doerle (1884-1961), who was known for his satirical works and political commentary.
While the name Doerle may have originated in a specific region of Germany, it has since spread across various countries and continents, with people of this surname making significant contributions in fields such as art, music, literature, and commerce throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doerle
Among Census respondents with the surname Doerle, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Doerle 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 Doerle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 108
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Doerle
Doerle 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-9 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,634 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 17,634 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,193 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 Doerle 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 | #147,253 | #149,446 | -1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 110 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Doerle bearers went from 112 to 110 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #149,446.
FAQ
Doerle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Doerle?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Doerle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Doerle?
Doerle ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Doerle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Doerle.
Has Doerle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Doerle went from 112 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Doerle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Doerle, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Doerle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Doerle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Doerle (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 Doerle mean?
A German surname derived from a place name referring to a dweller near a Thüringer village. 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 Doerle (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 Doerle?
See how many people are called Doerle on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.