2000
#37,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 559
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Danes
An ethnic surname derived from Denmark or denoting someone of Danish descent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 768 Americans carry the last name Danes. That puts it at #36,002 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 446,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Danes 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 Danes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
768
1 in 446,295
Census rank
#36,002
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
670
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 670 bearers of the surname Danes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 36002nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Danes, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Danes
The surname DANES originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "Dene," which means "Dane" or "Danish." This name was likely given to someone who had Danish ancestry or who came from Denmark.
The earliest recorded instance of the name DANES can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Dene." This suggests that the name was already in use in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
During the Middle Ages, the DANES surname was particularly common in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia. This region had strong connections with Denmark due to its proximity to the North Sea and its history of Danish settlement and invasion.
One notable early bearer of the name was Robert Danes, a 13th-century landowner in Norfolk who is mentioned in various medieval records. Another was John Danes, a 14th-century merchant from Norwich who was involved in the wool trade with the Netherlands.
In the 15th century, the DANES surname appears in the records of the University of Cambridge, with several students and scholars bearing the name. One example is William Danes, who was a fellow of Peterhouse College in the late 1400s.
During the Tudor period, the DANES family became established in Devon and Cornwall, where they were prominent landowners and gentry. Sir John Danes (c.1509-1580) was a notable figure from this branch of the family, serving as a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Devon.
Other notable bearers of the DANES surname include Captain William Danes (1605-1677), an English naval officer who fought in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, and Reverend John Danes (1619-1680), a Puritan minister and author who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
As the DANES surname spread across England, various spelling variations emerged, such as Daines, Danes, Daynes, and Deynes. These variations reflect regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling before standardization.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danes
Among Census respondents with the surname Danes, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Danes 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 Danes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 554
- Black or African American7.0% · 47
- Two or more races4.5% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Danes
Danes 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
#36,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 610
+51 bearers (+9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 850 places
2020
#36,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 670
+60 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Up 628 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #37,480 | 559 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,630 | 610 | 0.21 | +51 bearers (+9.1%) | Up 850 places |
| 2020 | #36,002 | 670 | 0.22 | +60 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 628 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 Danes 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 | #36,630 | #36,002 | 1.7% |
| Count | 610 | 670 | 9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.22 | 6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Danes bearers went from 610 to 670 (+9.8% change). The surname moved up 628 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,630 to #36,002.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Danes
FAQ
Danes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Danes?
Name Census estimates that about 768 living Americans carry the surname Danes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 446,295 residents.
How common is Danes?
Danes ranks #36,002 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 670 people with the surname Danes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (768), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Danes.
Has Danes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Danes went from 610 recorded bearers to 670. That is an increase of 60 (+9.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #36,630 to #36,002.
What does the Census say about the background of Danes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Danes, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Danes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (554 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Danes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.7%), Black (7.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Danes (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 Danes mean?
An ethnic surname derived from Denmark or denoting someone of Danish descent. 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 Danes (0.22 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 have the last name Danes?
See how many people have the last name Danes on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.