Find out how popular the last name Daily is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Daily.

Daily, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Daily surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Daily in America

Daily is the 3205th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Daily surname appeared 11,276 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Daily.

We can also compare 2010 data for Daily to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Daily

The surname DAILY originated in England and is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "daeg" meaning "day". It refers to someone who worked as a dairyman or milker of cows, denoting their daily occupation.

The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the late 12th century in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire, where a Walter le Dayeman was listed in 1182. This early spelling variation highlights the occupational nature of the name.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Richard le Daye in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1262 and William le Daye in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Daye, a printer and publisher in London during the 16th century. He was granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth I in 1583 to print certain types of books.

In the 17th century, the DAILY surname was found in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire, where Thomas Daily was recorded in the parish records of Slaughter in 1621.

A notable bearer of the name was Benjamin Daily (1635-1697), an English Quaker preacher and writer who traveled extensively in the American colonies, spreading the Quaker faith.

In the 18th century, the name continued to appear in various English records, such as the marriage of John Daily and Sarah Collett in Wiltshire in 1717.

A prominent figure with the DAILY surname was Sir Cavendish Daily (1769-1846), a British naval officer who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of Admiral and was knighted for his service.

Another significant individual was William Daily (1786-1875), an English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

As the name spread throughout the British Isles and later to other parts of the world through immigration, variations in spelling emerged, such as Dayley, Dayly, and Dailey.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Daily

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Daily.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Daily was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Daily has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Daily was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Daily, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!