Dewald
A surname ultimately from a Germanic personal name built on words meaning “people” and “rule” or “power.”
The #9,875 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,273 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dewald is generally understood as a surname taken from a Germanic given name, most likely a form of Theudoald / Dietwald and related variants. Those names combine elements meaning “people” or “folk” with a second element meaning “rule,” “power,” or “strength.” In modern terms, the name would have conveyed something like “people-power” or “ruler of the people.”
History
The excerpts show Dewald grouped with older Germanic name forms such as Theudoald, Diewald, and Ditwald, which supports a German personal-name origin. As a surname, it would have arisen when descendants of a man bearing that given name adopted it as a family name. The name is found in German-speaking and German-descended populations, including in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same old Germanic name elements behind Dewald also appear in many medieval names with “diet-” or “theod-,” both connected to the idea of the people.
From the historical record
“Theudoald: Dicthold — Diedelt — Ditwald — Diewald — Dewald — Theuald. Gen. Dedolx. Thiotvic: Dietwig. Teuduin: Dewin.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen