Dirks
A Dutch and North German surname meaning “son of Dirk,” the old short form of Dietrich/Theodoric.
The #7,350 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 68,096 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dirks is a patronymic surname built from the personal name Dirk, with the -s ending meaning “of” or “son of.” Dirk is a common Dutch and North German short form of Dietrich, ultimately from the Germanic name Theodoric, meaning roughly “people-ruler” or “ruler of the people.” In other words, Dirks originally identified someone as the descendant of a man named Dirk.
History
Historical surname lists place Dirks especially in Dutch and Frisian-speaking areas, and it appears alongside related forms such as Dirksen, Dirken, and Dierks. The name is also found in northern Germany, where patronymic surnames ending in -s and -sen are common. In English-speaking countries, the surname was carried by immigrants from these regions and later became established in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root behind Dirks also lies behind the much older Germanic name Theodoric, so the surname ultimately traces back to a name meaning “ruler of the people.”
From the historical record
“Dirk, Dierk, m. ; f. Dirktje, Dirtje ; fam. n., Dirks, Dirksen, Dirken, Dierken Djure, m. ; fam. n., Djuren ; f. Djurke, Jurke”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)