Explore the Family Name Dern

The meaning of Dern

German: 1. from an old personal name based on an element cognate with Old High German tarhnen ‘to conceal’, tarni ‘secretly’. 2. possibly a habitational name from Derne near Dortmund or Dehrn on the Lahn river, Hesse. Some characteristic forenames: German Klaus, Fritz.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Dern in the United States?

The surname Dern was ranked 32,202 in popularity in the U.S. in 2000 and dropped to 39,004 in 2010, a decline of 21.12%. The total count of people with the last name Dern also decreased from 675 in 2000 to 565 in 2010, marking a 16.3% decrease. The proportion per 100,000 people similarly fell by 24%, from 0.25 in 2000 to 0.19 in 2010. This data is based on the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#32,202	#39,004	-21.12%
Count	675	565	-16.3%
Proportion per 100k	0.25	0.19	-24%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dern

In terms of ethnicity, the Dern surname saw some notable shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Derns identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander notably increased by 67.57%, going from 0.74% in 2000 to 1.24% in 2010. Those identifying as White also increased slightly, from 92% in 2000 to 94.69% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of Derns identifying as Hispanic fell by 17.72%, from 2.37% in 2000 to 1.95% in 2010. Interestingly, there were no recorded Derns identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2010, compared to 2.96% and 0.74% respectively in 2000. The data for these categories may have been suppressed (S) for privacy reasons. The data is based on the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92%	94.69%	2.92%
Hispanic	2.37%	1.95%	-17.72%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.74%	1.24%	67.57%
Two or More Races	1.19%	1.06%	-10.92%
Black	2.96%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.74%	0%	0%