2000
#13,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,982
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Danis
Derived from the Greek name Dionysios, meaning "of Dionysos" or "devoted to Dionysos," the Greek god of wine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,701 Americans carry the last name Danis. That puts it at #12,557 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Danis 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 Danis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,899
Census rank
#12,557
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,355 bearers of the surname Danis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12557th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Danis, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Danis
The surname DANIS is of French origin, derived from the medieval French personal name "Denis" or "Denys," which itself comes from the Latin name "Dionysius." This name was borne by a 3rd-century saint who was the first bishop of Paris and is the patron saint of France.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname DANIS can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It is believed that the name may have originated as a patronymic, meaning "son of Denis," or as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near a church or location dedicated to Saint Denis.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no recorded instances of the surname DANIS. However, there are several entries for variants of the given name Denis, such as Denisus and Dionisius.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname DANIS was Jean Danis, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century and was a member of the Knights Templar. Another notable figure was Guillaume Danis, a French merchant and explorer who was part of the first French expedition to Canada in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, Jacques Danis (1620-1692) was a French Jesuit missionary who established several missions among the Native American tribes in what is now the state of Michigan. His work helped to spread Christianity and French influence in the Great Lakes region.
During the French Revolution, a prominent figure with the surname DANIS was François-Marie Danis (1758-1794), a French lawyer and politician who was a member of the National Convention and an ally of Maximilien Robespierre.
In the 19th century, Louis-Édouard Danis (1817-1890) was a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Augustin and the Lycée Janson de Sailly.
Another distinguished bearer of the surname DANIS was Maurice Danis (1886-1968), a French painter and engraver who was part of the Symbolist movement and is known for his imaginative and dreamlike works.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danis
Among Census respondents with the surname Danis, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Danis 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 Danis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.6% · 1,780
- Black or African American15.5% · 364
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 74
- Two or more races2.8% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Danis
Danis 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
#11,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,651
+669 bearers (+33.8%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 2,164 places
2020
#12,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,355
-296 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 750 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,971 | 1,982 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,807 | 2,651 | 0.90 | +669 bearers (+33.8%) | Up 2,164 places |
| 2020 | #12,557 | 2,355 | 0.79 | -296 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 750 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 Danis 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 | #11,807 | #12,557 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,651 | 2,355 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.79 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Danis bearers went from 2,651 to 2,355 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 750 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,807 to #12,557.
FAQ
Danis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Danis?
Name Census estimates that about 2,701 living Americans carry the surname Danis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,899 residents.
How common is Danis?
Danis ranks #12,557 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,355 people with the surname Danis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,701), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Danis.
Has Danis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Danis went from 2,651 recorded bearers to 2,355. That is a decrease of 296 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,807 to #12,557.
What does the Census say about the background of Danis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Danis, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Danis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (1,780 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Danis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.6%), Black (15.5%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Danis (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 Danis mean?
Derived from the Greek name Dionysios, meaning "of Dionysos" or "devoted to Dionysos," the Greek god of wine. 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 Danis (0.79 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 Danis?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Danis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.