2000
#8,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,807
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Dameron
Derived from a French place name meaning "from Ameron," referring to someone from the town of Ameron.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,259 Americans carry the last name Dameron. That puts it at #8,512 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,478 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dameron 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.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 80,478
Census rank
#8,512
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,714 bearers of the surname Dameron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8512th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dameron
The surname DAMERON is believed to have originated in England, possibly in the early Middle Ages around the 11th or 12th century. It may be derived from the Old French words "dame" meaning "lady" and "run" meaning "stream" or "brook", suggesting a connection to a body of water associated with a noblewoman or manor house. Alternatively, it could be a locational surname referring to a place called Dameron, though no such place is definitively recorded.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a Richard de Dammeron was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. The 'de' prefix indicates a Norman French origin, as the name likely arrived in England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. Similar spellings from this period include Dammarun, Damerun, and Damorun.
While the DAMERON surname does not appear in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest, it is possible that the name existed but was not documented in that particular record. However, its absence suggests that the name may have emerged later in medieval times.
One notable bearer of the DAMERON name was Sir Thomas Dameron, a English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France in the 14th century. He was born around 1320 and participated in the Battle of Crécy in 1346, where English longbowmen played a crucial role in defeating the French.
Another historical figure with this surname was John Dameron, a 16th-century English Protestant who was persecuted for his religious beliefs during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was born in 1520 and was ultimately burned at the stake as a heretic in 1556, during the period of the Marian Persecutions.
In the 17th century, a man named William Dameron was recorded as one of the early settlers in the Virginia Colony of British America, arriving around 1635. He likely traveled from England in search of new opportunities and freedom in the New World.
Moving into the 18th century, a notable bearer of the DAMERON name was James Dameron, a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1745 and participated in several battles against the American colonists, including the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
In the 19th century, an individual named Elizabeth Dameron gained recognition as an educator and advocate for women's rights in the United States. She was born in 1812 and founded several schools for girls, promoting the importance of education for women during a time when educational opportunities were limited for females.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dameron
Among Census respondents with the surname Dameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Dameron 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 Dameron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 2,977
- Black or African American10.9% · 406
- Two or more races4.6% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dameron
Dameron 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
#8,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,917
+110 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 400 places
2020
#8,512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,714
-203 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,034 | 3,807 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,434 | 3,917 | 1.33 | +110 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 400 places |
| 2020 | #8,512 | 3,714 | 1.24 | -203 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 78 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 Dameron 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 | #8,434 | #8,512 | -0.9% |
| Count | 3,917 | 3,714 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.24 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dameron bearers went from 3,917 to 3,714 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,434 to #8,512.
FAQ
Dameron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dameron?
Name Census estimates that about 4,259 living Americans carry the surname Dameron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,478 residents.
How common is Dameron?
Dameron ranks #8,512 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.24 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 3,714 people with the surname Dameron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,259), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.24 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 Dameron.
Has Dameron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dameron went from 3,917 recorded bearers to 3,714. That is a decrease of 203 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,434 to #8,512.
What does the Census say about the background of Dameron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dameron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (2,977 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dameron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Black (10.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dameron (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 Dameron mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "from Ameron," referring to someone from the town of Ameron. 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 Dameron (1.24 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 Dameron?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.