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

Dalzell, 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 Dalzell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dalzell in America

Dalzell is the 16968th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dalzell surname appeared 1,675 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Dalzell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dalzell 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 Dalzell

The surname Dalzell has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "dael" meaning "valley" and "sele" meaning "hall" or "dwelling place," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to a person living in a valley or a particular location.

The name Dalzell is closely associated with the Dalzell family, a prominent Scottish clan from Lanarkshire. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. Robert de Dalzell is listed among these landowners.

In the 14th century, the Dalzell family acquired lands in the parish of Dalzell, near the town of Motherwell in Lanarkshire. This area is believed to have been the source of their surname, with their estate becoming known as the Barony of Dalzell. The family's ancestral seat was the Dalzell House, a historic manor that dates back to the 16th century.

Notable individuals with the surname Dalzell include Sir Robert Dalzell (1550-1636), who was appointed Lord President of the Court of Session in Scotland in 1628. Another prominent figure was General Thomas Dalzell (1615-1685), a Scottish Royalist officer who fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and was known for his brutality in suppressing the Covenanters.

In the 18th century, Lord John Dalzell (1679-1753) served as a Scottish judge and was appointed Lord of Session in 1726. His son, Robert Dalzell (1705-1765), was a British Army officer who fought in the Seven Years' War and became a Member of Parliament for Lanarkshire.

The Dalzell family also has connections to the United States, with James Dalzell (1783-1868) being a Scottish-American merchant and landowner who settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the early 19th century. His descendants played influential roles in the city's development and included several prominent lawyers and politicians.

Throughout history, variations of the Dalzell surname have included Dalziel, Dalsiel, and Dalyell, reflecting the fluidity of spelling conventions in earlier times. However, the core elements of the name, rooted in the Scottish landscape and the legacy of the Dalzell clan, have endured, making it a distinctive part of Scottish heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dalzell

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

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 Dalzell 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 Dalzell 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 Dalzell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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