2000
#12,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,280
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Dade
Likely derived from the Old English given name "Dæd," meaning "deed, action, or exploit."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,674 Americans carry the last name Dade. That puts it at #12,644 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 128,180 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dade surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Dade with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 128,180
Census rank
#12,644
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,332 bearers of the surname Dade in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12644th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dade, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Two or More Races (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dade
The surname Dade originated in England and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "dudd," which means a round, knobby hill or clump. This suggests that the name was originally a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a prominent hillock or mound.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dade surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from the year 1195, where a person named Willelmus de Dode is mentioned. The de prefix indicates that the name was likely a locative surname at that time.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a Richard de Dode from Oxfordshire. This record demonstrates that the name was present in different regions of England during the medieval period.
The Dade surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1327, where a John de Dode is listed. The variation in spelling, such as Dode and Dade, was common during this era due to the inconsistencies in written records.
A notable historical figure bearing the Dade surname was Sir John Dade, a Member of Parliament for Winchelsea in the late 16th century. He was born around 1530 and served as a judge during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent individual was William Dade, an English soldier and explorer who was born in the early 17th century. He participated in the colonization efforts in Virginia and is remembered for his role in the Dade's Massacre, a tragic encounter with Native Americans in 1615.
In the 18th century, Reverend William Dade, born in 1681, was a Church of England clergyman and author. He published several religious works and served as the rector of Basted and Brenchley in Kent.
Francis Dade, born in 1786, was a British army officer who was killed in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1835. The Dade County in Florida was named in his honor, which later became the present-day Miami-Dade County.
Lastly, Charles Dade, born in 1822, was a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Holborn Viaduct and the Royal Institute of British Architects headquarters.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dade
Among Census respondents with the surname Dade, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Two or More Races (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Dade bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Dade surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.1% · 1,449
- White25.5% · 595
- Two or more races7.3% · 170
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dade
Dade appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,364
+84 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 505 places
2020
#12,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,332
-32 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 342 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,481 | 2,280 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,986 | 2,364 | 0.80 | +84 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 505 places |
| 2020 | #12,644 | 2,332 | 0.78 | -32 bearers (-1.4%) | Up 342 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Dade surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,986 | #12,644 | 2.6% |
| Count | 2,364 | 2,332 | -1.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.78 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dade bearers went from 2,364 to 2,332 (-1.4% change). The surname moved up 342 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,986 to #12,644.
FAQ
Dade surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dade?
Name Census estimates that about 2,674 living Americans carry the surname Dade. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 128,180 residents.
How common is Dade?
Dade ranks #12,644 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,332 people with the surname Dade. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,674), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dade.
Has Dade become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dade went from 2,364 recorded bearers to 2,332. That is a decrease of 32 (-1.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,986 to #12,644.
What does the Census say about the background of Dade?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dade, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dade in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (1,449 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dade appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (62.1%), White (25.5%), Two or More Races (7.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Dade (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Dade mean?
Likely derived from the Old English given name "Dæd," meaning "deed, action, or exploit." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Dade (0.78 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Dade?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.