2000
#3,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,172
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.03
Rare Last name
Damron
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fallow deer hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,899 Americans carry the last name Damron. That puts it at #4,431 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,516 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Damron 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
8.9K
1 in 38,516
Census rank
#4,431
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,760 bearers of the surname Damron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4431st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Damron, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Damron
The surname Damron originates from England and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "dam" meaning a small valley or gap, and "ron" meaning a rough hillside or thicket. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived near a small valley or gap in a rough hillside or thicket.
Variations of the name, such as Dameron and Damerun, can be found in early English records, including the Domesday Book of 1086. This suggests the name was already established by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is William Dameron, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1189. Another early bearer of the name was John Damerun, who was recorded in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1275.
The surname Damron has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. In the 16th century, there was a William Damron (c. 1520-1590), who was an English merchant and alderman of London. In the 17th century, Robert Damron (1621-1695) was an English Puritan minister and author.
During the 18th century, John Damron (1708-1784) was a British soldier who served in the French and Indian War. In the 19th century, Joseph Damron (1843-1912) was an American farmer and politician who served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Damron (1876-1957), an American coal miner and labor organizer who played a significant role in the West Virginia coal mine wars of the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Damron
Among Census respondents with the surname Damron, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Damron 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 Damron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 7,015
- Two or more races4.6% · 354
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 201
- Black or African American1.3% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Damron
Damron 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
#4,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,354
+182 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 2.83
Rank movement Down 258 places
2020
#4,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,760
-594 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,989 | 8,172 | 3.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,247 | 8,354 | 2.83 | +182 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 258 places |
| 2020 | #4,431 | 7,760 | 2.60 | -594 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 184 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 Damron 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 | #4,247 | #4,431 | -4.3% |
| Count | 8,354 | 7,760 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.83 | 2.60 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Damron bearers went from 8,354 to 7,760 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,247 to #4,431.
FAQ
Damron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Damron?
Name Census estimates that about 8,899 living Americans carry the surname Damron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,516 residents.
How common is Damron?
Damron ranks #4,431 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,760 people with the surname Damron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,899), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Damron.
Has Damron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Damron went from 8,354 recorded bearers to 7,760. That is a decrease of 594 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,247 to #4,431.
What does the Census say about the background of Damron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Damron, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Damron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (7,015 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Damron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Damron (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 Damron mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fallow deer hill" in Old English. 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 Damron (2.60 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 are called Damron?
If you just want to know how many people are called Damron, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.