How common is the surname Dickens?

18,123 people in the United States had the surname Dickens in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,036 Americans. It ranked 1,990th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dickens?

Kim Dickens, American actress, followed by Little Jimmy Dickens.

Where is the surname Dickens most common?

Wikidata records people named Dickens in the United States.

How do you pronounce Dickens?

Dickens is /ˈdɪkɪnz/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Dickens getting more or less common?

Less common. 18,181 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,123 in 2010, down 0.3%.

The surname Dickens

A patronymic surname, carried by 18,123 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈdɪkɪnz/ 2 syllables Soundex D252

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Dickens is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.

Dickens is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,123 people named Dickens in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,036 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 18,181.

#1,990

rank among US surnames

18,123

people in 2010

6.1

per 100,000 Americans

-0.3%

change since 2000 (was #1,814)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,981	Humphries	18,201	16,963
#1,982	Youngblood	18,197	16,967
#1,983	Capps	18,194	16,970
#1,984	Cates	18,190	16,973
#1,985	Covarrubias	18,189	16,974
#1,986	Addison	18,169	16,993
#1,987	Ha	18,156	17,005

Who is named Dickens

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

63% of people named Dickens identified as white (not Hispanic), 31% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 63%
Black (not Hispanic) 31%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Dickenss

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kim Dickens
American actress, born 1965
Little Jimmy Dickens
American musician (1920–2015)
Bill Dickens
American musician, born 1958
Kaniel Dickens
American basketball player (born 1978)
Helen Octavia Dickens
American physician, 1909–2001
Hazel Dickens
Activist, singer (1935–2011)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Dickens

Dickens has the Soundex code D252, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D252.

Questions

Where does the surname Dickens come from?: From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.
How common is the surname Dickens?: 18,123 people in the United States had the surname Dickens in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,036 Americans. It ranked 1,990th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dickens?: In the 2010 Census, 63% of people named Dickens identified as white (not Hispanic), and 31% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dickens?: Kim Dickens, American actress, followed by Little Jimmy Dickens.
Where is the surname Dickens most common?: Wikidata records people named Dickens in the United States.
How do you pronounce Dickens?: Dickens is /ˈdɪkɪnz/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Dickens?: Dickens is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Dickens getting more or less common?: Less common. 18,181 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,123 in 2010, down 0.3%.