Explore the Family Name Diane

The meaning of Diane

West African (mainly Guinea and Mali; Diané): from the name of the Diané clan of the Soninke people, which is said to be derived from the Soninke word jaane ‘whip’ (denoting the stick of command of the clan’s forefather).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Diane has shown an increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Diane was ranked 67,725th, but by 2010 it had climbed to 61,123rd in rank, resulting in a rate of change of 9.75%. In terms of count, the number of people with the surname Diane also increased from 272 in 2000 to 329 in 2010, marking a significant rise of approximately 21%. The proportion per 100k also rose by 10%, from 0.1 in 2000 to 0.11 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#67,725	#61,123	9.75%
Count	272	329	20.96%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.11	10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Diane

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Diane also saw shifts between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. There were no individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010. The percentage of those identifying as White dropped from 48.53% in 2000 to 40.43% in 2010, representing a decrease of 16.69%. Individuals who identified as having two or more races were only recorded in 2000 at 4.04%, but not in 2010. Hispanic representation decreased from 5.51% in 2000 to 2.43% in 2010, a substantial reduction of around 56%. However, there was a notable increase in those identifying as Black, rising from 38.24% in 2000 to 55.62% in 2010, a growth rate of 45.45%.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	38.24%	55.62%	45.45%
White	48.53%	40.43%	-16.69%
Hispanic	5.51%	2.43%	-55.9%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	4.04%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%