2000
#16,128
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,649
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.61
Rare Last name
Dike
A dike or dam constructed to control water flow or prevent flooding.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,178 Americans carry the last name Dike. That puts it at #14,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,371 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dike 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Dike with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 157,371
Census rank
#14,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,899 bearers of the surname Dike in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dike, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.5%. The next largest groups are Black (43.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dike
The surname Dike has its origins in the Netherlands, where it first appeared in the 15th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "dijk," which means "dike" or "embankment." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a dike or worked as a dike builder or maintainer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dike can be found in the Leiden Records of 1490, which mention a Willem Dike. The name was also present in the Dutch province of Friesland, where it was spelled as "Dijke" or "Dyke."
In the 16th century, the Dike surname began to spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas. In England, the name was anglicized to "Dyke" and can be found in the parish records of Gloucestershire and Somerset from the late 1500s.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir Percyvall Dyke (1579-1662), an English military officer who served in the English Civil War and was knighted by King Charles I in 1641.
In the 17th century, the name made its way to the American colonies, where it was sometimes spelled "Dijk" or "Deijke" by Dutch settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances in America is that of Nicasius Dike, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1642.
Another notable figure with the surname Dike was Reverend Samuel Dike (1614-1668), an English Puritan minister who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 and became a prominent figure in the colonial government.
In the 19th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Thomas Dike (1833-1891), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.
Additionally, Wilbur Dike (1859-1935) was an American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Akron, Ohio, and played a significant role in the city's industrial development.
Overall, the surname Dike has a rich history that can be traced back to the Netherlands, with various spellings and notable bearers emerging across Europe and North America over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dike
Among Census respondents with the surname Dike, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.5%. The next largest groups are Black (43.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dike 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 Dike surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.5% · 940
- Black or African American43.0% · 817
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 57
- Two or more races2.7% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dike
Dike 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
#15,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,837
+188 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 283 places
2020
#14,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,899
+62 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 895 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,128 | 1,649 | 0.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,845 | 1,837 | 0.62 | +188 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 283 places |
| 2020 | #14,950 | 1,899 | 0.64 | +62 bearers (+3.4%) | Up 895 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 Dike 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 | #15,845 | #14,950 | 5.6% |
| Count | 1,837 | 1,899 | 3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.64 | 2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dike bearers went from 1,837 to 1,899 (+3.4% change). The surname moved up 895 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,845 to #14,950.
FAQ
Dike surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dike?
Name Census estimates that about 2,178 living Americans carry the surname Dike. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,371 residents.
How common is Dike?
Dike ranks #14,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,899 people with the surname Dike. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Dike.
Has Dike become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dike went from 1,837 recorded bearers to 1,899. That is an increase of 62 (+3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,845 to #14,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Dike?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dike, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.5%. The next largest groups are Black (43.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Dike in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.5% (940 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dike appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (49.5%), Black (43.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Dike (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 Dike mean?
A dike or dam constructed to control water flow or prevent flooding. 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 Dike (0.64 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 Dike?
Want to know how common the surname Dike is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.