Dunn
A masculine given name derived from the Scottish surname meaning "brown" or "hill".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Dunn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dunn today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dunn births was 1929 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dunn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dunn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1929
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1929 SSA rank
#4,123
Tracked since 1929
Census
Dunn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Dunn, which placed it at #40,305 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dunn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dunn is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dunn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dunn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.3% · 93
- Black or African American23.8% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.9% · 35
- Two or more races3.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Dunn: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dunn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dunn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dunn
The given name Dunn originated from the medieval English and Gaelic languages. It traces its roots back to the Old English word "dunn," which meant "brown" or "dark-colored." This name was likely initially given as a descriptive nickname or surname referring to a person's complexion or hair color.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dunn was primarily used in England, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was often spelled as "Dun" or "Donn." It was a common name among the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic populations in these regions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dunn was Dun Foither, an Irish missionary and saint who lived in the 6th century. He was known for his work in spreading Christianity throughout Ireland and establishing several monasteries.
In the 12th century, Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was a prominent figure in English history. He was a skilled diplomat and played a crucial role in shaping the policies of several English kings during his lifetime (909-988).
Another notable bearer of the name was John Donne, the renowned English poet and cleric who lived from 1572 to 1631. His works, such as "Holy Sonnets" and "Songs and Sonnets," are considered masterpieces of metaphysical poetry.
In the world of music, Dunstan Prial, also known as St. Dunn, was an influential reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica. He was born in 1953 and is known for his hits such as "Judgement Day" and "Life is Just for Living."
Lastly, Dun Laoghaire, an Irish name derived from the same linguistic roots as Dunn, is a seaside town located in County Dublin, Ireland. The town's name means "fort of the forts" or "fort of the seaways" in Irish.
While the name Dunn may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has evolved into a standalone given name with a rich history and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Dunn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dunn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dunn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dunn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dunn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Dunn a common name?
We classify Dunn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dunn most popular?
The single biggest year for Dunn was 1929, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dunn is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dunn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Dunn, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dunn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dunn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dunn leans strongly male. 156 people counted with this name were male (80.4%), compared with 38 female bearers (19.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dunn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dunn is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dunn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dunn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.3% (93 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dunn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dunn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dunn in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dunn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dunn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dunn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Dunn as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Dunn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.