2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dunkleman
A locational surname derived from the village of Dunkelman in Saxony, Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Dunkleman. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dunkleman 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Dunkleman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunkleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dunkleman
The surname DUNKLEMAN is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "dunkel," meaning "dark" or "gloomy," and the suffix "-man," which was commonly used to denote an occupation or characteristic. Thus, DUNKLEMAN likely referred to someone with a dark complexion or temperament.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DUNKLEMAN can be found in the Stiftungsurkunde von Oberingelheim, a historical document from the 14th century that mentions a certain "Hans Dunkleman" as a landowner in the region. This suggests that the name was already established in Germanic regions by that time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a family of DUNKLEMANS were prominent merchants and craftsmen. Notable members of this family include Johann DUNKLEMAN (1525-1597), a master woodcarver renowned for his intricate work on church altars and pulpits.
As the DUNKLEMAN family spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, such as DUNKELMANN, DUNCKELMANN, and DUNCKELMAN. These variations reflect the fluidity of surname spellings before standardization became more common in the 18th and 19th centuries.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several DUNKLEMANS made their mark in various fields. Hans Georg DUNKLEMAN (1645-1713) was a respected jurist and legal scholar in the city of Frankfurt, while Wilhelm DUNKLEMAN (1722-1789) was a noted composer and musician in the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
As German immigration to North America increased in the 19th century, the DUNKLEMAN name began to appear in historical records on the new continent. One notable figure was Friedrich DUNKLEMAN (1810-1878), a pioneering farmer and vintner who established one of the first successful vineyards in Missouri.
Throughout its history, the DUNKLEMAN surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those who bore this name. From skilled artisans and tradesmen to scholars, musicians, and entrepreneurs, the DUNKLEMANS have left their mark across centuries and continents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dunkleman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunkleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dunkleman 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 Dunkleman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 115
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dunkleman
Dunkleman 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,861 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,005 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 7,861 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 3,005 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 Dunkleman 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 | #138,304 | #141,309 | -2.2% |
| Count | 121 | 121 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dunkleman bearers went from 121 to 121 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 3,005 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #141,309.
FAQ
Dunkleman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dunkleman?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Dunkleman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Dunkleman?
Dunkleman ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Dunkleman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Dunkleman.
Has Dunkleman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dunkleman went from 121 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Dunkleman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunkleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Dunkleman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dunkleman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Dunkleman (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 Dunkleman mean?
A locational surname derived from the village of Dunkelman in Saxony, Germany. 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 Dunkleman (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 have the last name Dunkleman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Dunkleman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.