2000
#7,723
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,971
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.47
Rare Last name
Dandridge
A locational surname referring to someone from Dandridge, a place in Kent, England, or a variant of Tandridge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,656 Americans carry the last name Dandridge. That puts it at #7,834 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,616 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dandridge 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 Dandridge with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,616
Census rank
#7,834
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,060 bearers of the surname Dandridge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7834th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandridge, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.4%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dandridge
The surname Dandridge is an English habitational name derived from a place near Ledbury in Herefordshire. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words 'denn' meaning a pasture or wooded valley and 'hrycg' meaning a ridge, indicating that the name refers to someone who lived near a wooded ridge or hillock.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Dandridge dates back to the early 13th century in the Pipe Rolls of Herefordshire from 1208-1209, where a Roger de Denerugg is mentioned. By the late 13th century, the spelling had evolved closer to the modern form, with a William de Denderugge appearing in records from 1275.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as Denderigge, Denderugge, and Denderych in medieval records from Herefordshire and Worcestershire. A notable early bearer of the name was John Denderych, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
The surname Dandridge gained prominence in the 16th century with the birth of Sir William Dandridge (1512-1587), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Malvern in Worcestershire. His descendants continued to hold significant estates in the region for several generations.
Another well-known figure was Bartholomew Dandridge (1571-1638), a clergyman who served as the Rector of Wootton Rivers in Wiltshire during the early 17th century. He was a renowned scholar and author of several religious works.
In the 18th century, Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802) gained fame as the wife of George Washington, the first President of the United States. She was born Martha Dandridge and married George Washington as his second wife in 1759.
The Dandridge family also had connections to the English aristocracy, with Frances Dandridge (1786-1839) marrying Lord William Howard Vyse, a prominent English aristocrat and traveler, in 1818.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dandridge
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandridge, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.4%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dandridge 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 Dandridge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.4% · 2,816
- White20.0% · 810
- Two or more races6.0% · 242
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 139
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dandridge
Dandridge 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
#7,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,201
+230 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 153 places
2020
#7,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,060
-141 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Up 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,723 | 3,971 | 1.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,876 | 4,201 | 1.42 | +230 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 153 places |
| 2020 | #7,834 | 4,060 | 1.36 | -141 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 42 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 Dandridge 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 | #7,876 | #7,834 | 0.5% |
| Count | 4,201 | 4,060 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.36 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dandridge bearers went from 4,201 to 4,060 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,876 to #7,834.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dandridge
FAQ
Dandridge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dandridge?
Name Census estimates that about 4,656 living Americans carry the surname Dandridge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,616 residents.
How common is Dandridge?
Dandridge ranks #7,834 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 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 4,060 people with the surname Dandridge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,656), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 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 Dandridge.
Has Dandridge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dandridge went from 4,201 recorded bearers to 4,060. That is a decrease of 141 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,876 to #7,834.
What does the Census say about the background of Dandridge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandridge, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.4%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dandridge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (2,816 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dandridge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (69.4%), White (20.0%), Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Dandridge (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 Dandridge mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Dandridge, a place in Kent, England, or a variant of Tandridge. 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 Dandridge (1.36 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 Dandridge?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.