2000
#21,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Dyches
A topographic surname indicating someone who lived near a ditch or dike.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,258 Americans carry the last name Dyches. That puts it at #23,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 272,460 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dyches 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
1.3K
1 in 272,460
Census rank
#23,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,097 bearers of the surname Dyches in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dyches, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dyches
The surname Dyches has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "dic," meaning a ditch or a trench, which suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational one, describing someone who lived near a ditch or worked as a ditch-digger.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de la Diche," referring to a person living near a ditch or a trench. This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time, with the eventual emergence of the modern form, Dyches.
During the 13th century, the name was also recorded in various historical documents, such as the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk, where it appeared as "Diche" and "Dyche." These records provide valuable insights into the geographic distribution of the name, indicating that it was prevalent in areas like Norfolk and Suffolk.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the form "Dyches" in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire, suggesting its spread across different regions of England. One notable individual from this period was John Dyches, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Worstead, Norfolk, in the late 1300s.
The 16th century saw the name appear in various parish records and legal documents, including the marriage of William Dyches to Elizabeth Smyth in 1589 in the parish of Redenhall, Norfolk. This period also witnessed the emergence of the spelling variation "Dytches."
In the 17th century, the name gained further recognition with individuals like Thomas Dyches, a prominent merchant and landowner from Ipswich, Suffolk, who was born in 1612 and died in 1678. Another notable figure from this era was Robert Dyches, a Puritan clergyman and author who lived from 1615 to 1683.
The 18th century brought forth individuals like Samuel Dyches, a English lexicographer and schoolmaster, who was born in 1711 and published several educational works, including "A Guide to the English Tongue" in 1765. During this period, the name also appeared in various parish records and legal documents across England.
In the 19th century, the name continued to be represented by notable individuals such as William Dyches, a prominent architect from Norfolk who designed several churches and public buildings in the region. He was born in 1816 and died in 1892.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dyches
Among Census respondents with the surname Dyches, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dyches 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 Dyches surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 886
- Black or African American12.3% · 135
- Two or more races3.1% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dyches
Dyches 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
#21,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,206
+93 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 166 places
2020
#23,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,097
-109 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 2,210 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,791 | 1,113 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,625 | 1,206 | 0.41 | +93 bearers (+8.4%) | Up 166 places |
| 2020 | #23,835 | 1,097 | 0.37 | -109 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 2,210 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 Dyches 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 | #21,625 | #23,835 | -10.2% |
| Count | 1,206 | 1,097 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.37 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dyches bearers went from 1,206 to 1,097 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 2,210 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,625 to #23,835.
FAQ
Dyches surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dyches?
Name Census estimates that about 1,258 living Americans carry the surname Dyches. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 272,460 residents.
How common is Dyches?
Dyches ranks #23,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,097 people with the surname Dyches. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,258), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Dyches.
Has Dyches become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dyches went from 1,206 recorded bearers to 1,097. That is a decrease of 109 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,625 to #23,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Dyches?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dyches, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Dyches in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (886 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dyches appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (12.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Dyches (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 Dyches mean?
A topographic surname indicating someone who lived near a ditch or 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 Dyches (0.37 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 surname Dyches?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.