2000
#4,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,674
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.47
Rare Last name
Dalrymple
From the Scottish place name meaning "valley of the crooked pool" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,399 Americans carry the last name Dalrymple. That puts it at #5,226 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dalrymple 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 Dalrymple with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.4K
1 in 46,324
Census rank
#5,226
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,452 bearers of the surname Dalrymple in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5226th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dalrymple, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dalrymple
The surname Dalrymple is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the lands of Dalrymple, near Ayr, in the county of Ayrshire. The name is believed to come from the Gaelic "dail" meaning "meadow" or "haugh" and the Scots word "rympill" meaning a small stream or rivulet.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name was in the year 1240, when John de Dalrymple was granted lands in the parish of Dalrymple. By the 13th century, the Dalrymples had established themselves as a prominent landowning family in Ayrshire.
The Dalrymple name appears in various historical records, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list several individuals with the surname who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. In the 14th century, the Dalrymples were involved in the Wars of Scottish Independence, supporting the cause of Robert the Bruce.
One of the earliest notable members of the Dalrymple family was Sir John Dalrymple (1448-1512), who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and played a key role in the construction of the city's famous Royal Mile.
Another famous Dalrymple was James Dalrymple (1619-1695), who rose to become the 1st Viscount of Stair and served as Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court. His son, John Dalrymple (1673-1747), was also a prominent figure, known as the 2nd Earl of Stair and serving as a distinguished military commander during the War of the Spanish Succession.
In the 18th century, Sir David Dalrymple (1726-1792) made significant contributions to Scottish history and antiquities as a lawyer, judge, and author. He was also a notable figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.
The Dalrymple surname has been associated with various place names throughout Scotland, such as Dalrymple Castle in Ayrshire and the town of Dalrymple, which was once the family's ancestral seat.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dalrymple
Among Census respondents with the surname Dalrymple, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Dalrymple 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 Dalrymple surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 5,652
- Black or African American4.6% · 294
- Two or more races3.6% · 230
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 202
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dalrymple
Dalrymple 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
#5,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,843
+169 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 2.32
Rank movement Down 290 places
2020
#5,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,452
-391 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Down 110 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,826 | 6,674 | 2.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,116 | 6,843 | 2.32 | +169 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 290 places |
| 2020 | #5,226 | 6,452 | 2.16 | -391 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 110 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 Dalrymple 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 | #5,116 | #5,226 | -2.2% |
| Count | 6,843 | 6,452 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.32 | 2.16 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dalrymple bearers went from 6,843 to 6,452 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 110 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,116 to #5,226.
FAQ
Dalrymple surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dalrymple?
Name Census estimates that about 7,399 living Americans carry the surname Dalrymple. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,324 residents.
How common is Dalrymple?
Dalrymple ranks #5,226 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,452 people with the surname Dalrymple. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,399), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Dalrymple.
Has Dalrymple become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dalrymple went from 6,843 recorded bearers to 6,452. That is a decrease of 391 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,116 to #5,226.
What does the Census say about the background of Dalrymple?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dalrymple, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dalrymple in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (5,652 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dalrymple appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Black (4.6%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Dalrymple (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 Dalrymple mean?
From the Scottish place name meaning "valley of the crooked pool" in Gaelic. 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 Dalrymple (2.16 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 people have the surname Dalrymple?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.