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

Dancer, 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 Dancer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dancer in America

Dancer is the 11685th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dancer surname appeared 2,682 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 Dancer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dancer 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 Dancer

The surname Dancer is of English origin, with its roots dating back to the medieval period in England. The name derives from the Old English word "dansere," which means "one who dances." This occupational surname was likely given to individuals who worked as professional dancers or entertainers in the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Dancer can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a John le Dansour is mentioned. The "le" prefix indicates the occupational nature of the surname.

In the 14th century, the surname Dancer appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, where a Thomas le Dauncer is recorded. This variation in spelling, "Dauncer," highlights the diverse ways the name was written in its early days.

One notable early bearer of the surname was Sir Thomas Dancer, a 15th-century English soldier and Member of Parliament. He was born around 1430 and served as a member of King Henry VI's privy council during the Wars of the Roses.

Another significant figure with the surname Dancer was Daniel Dancer, a 17th-century English actor and playwright. He was born around 1630 and is best known for his portrayal of various roles in the plays of William Shakespeare and other contemporary dramatists.

In the 18th century, the Dancer name gained prominence through Thomas Dancer, a renowned English landscape architect and garden designer. He was born in 1735 and is credited with designing several notable gardens, including those at Chilworth Manor in Surrey.

During the 19th century, the Dancer surname was carried by notable individuals such as Henry Dancer, a British naval officer and explorer. He was born in 1804 and is known for his explorations of the Arctic regions and his contributions to the mapping of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Another significant figure from this era was Sir Thomas Dancer, a British politician and colonial administrator. He was born in 1834 and served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1899 to 1904, playing a crucial role in the development of the colony.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dancer

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

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

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

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