2000
#102,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Dykhoff
A surname of unknown origin, possibly a habitational name for someone from a location named for a dike.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 216 Americans carry the last name Dykhoff. That puts it at #102,164 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,586,826 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dykhoff 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
216
1 in 1,586,826
Census rank
#102,164
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
188
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 188 bearers of the surname Dykhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 102164th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dykhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dykhoff
The surname DYKHOFF originated in Germany, first appearing in records from the 16th century. It is derived from the Low German words "dik" meaning thick or fat, and "hoff" meaning a farmstead or homestead. Thus, DYKHOFF likely referred to someone who lived on a large or prosperous farm.
Early variations of the spelling included Dikhoff, Dickhoff, and Dyckhoff. The name was particularly prevalent in the northern German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. One of the earliest recorded instances is Hans Dikhoff, born around 1525 in the town of Lübeck.
In the 17th century, the DYKHOFF name appears in church records from the village of Wittmundhaven in East Frisia. A farmer named Hinrich Dyckhoff is listed as a landowner there in 1632. His descendants continued using the DYKHOFF spelling for generations.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it was sometimes associated with the Low German word "dyk" meaning dike or embankment, suggesting the family may have lived near flood protection structures. However, most experts believe the "dik" root refers to stoutness or prosperity.
Notable people with the surname DYKHOFF include Johann Dyckhoff (1711-1753), a Lutheran pastor in Schwelm, and August Dykhoff (1822-1890), a jurist and politician who served in the Prussian parliament. In the 20th century, Hans Dykhoff (1901-1980) was a German naval officer during World War II.
Other examples are Heinrich Dykhoff (1873-1945), a banker and businessman from Bremen, and Margarete Dykhoff (1909-1992), a German stage and film actress popular in the 1930s and 1940s. While not appearing in major historical sources like the Domesday Book, the DYKHOFF name has a rich legacy tracing back to 16th century northern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dykhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Dykhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Dykhoff 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 Dykhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 181
- Two or more races3.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dykhoff
Dykhoff 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
#96,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 188
+26 bearers (+16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 5,892 places
2020
#102,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 188
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,365 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #102,691 | 162 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #96,799 | 188 | 0.06 | +26 bearers (+16.0%) | Up 5,892 places |
| 2020 | #102,164 | 188 | 0.06 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 5,365 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 Dykhoff 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 | #96,799 | #102,164 | -5.5% |
| Count | 188 | 188 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | 4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dykhoff bearers went from 188 to 188 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 5,365 positions in the national ranking, going from #96,799 to #102,164.
FAQ
Dykhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dykhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 216 living Americans carry the surname Dykhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,586,826 residents.
How common is Dykhoff?
Dykhoff ranks #102,164 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 188 people with the surname Dykhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (216), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Dykhoff.
Has Dykhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dykhoff went from 188 recorded bearers to 188. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #96,799 to #102,164.
What does the Census say about the background of Dykhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dykhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Dykhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (181 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dykhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Dykhoff (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 Dykhoff mean?
A surname of unknown origin, possibly a habitational name for someone from a location named for a dike. 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 Dykhoff (0.06 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 Dykhoff?
Find out how many people have the last name Dykhoff on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.