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

Danks, 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 Danks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Danks in America

Danks is the 18734th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Danks surname appeared 1,465 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 Danks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Danks 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 Danks

The surname DANKS has its origins in England, with records of the name dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "denc," meaning a hollow or valley, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name likely lived in or near a valley.

One of the earliest known references to the name DANKS can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named Ricardus de Denc is mentioned. This record indicates that the name was originally spelled "Denc" and was likely a locational surname, referring to someone who hailed from a specific place called Denc or Dench.

In the 13th century, the name began to appear in various forms, such as Dank, Danke, and Danks, reflecting the evolution of spelling and pronunciation over time. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 contain an entry for a Robert de Dank, while the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list a John Dankys.

One notable figure in the history of the DANKS surname was Sir Robert Danks (c. 1470-1530), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Worcestershire, England. He served as a knight of the shire for Worcestershire in the Parliament of 1529.

Another prominent individual bearing this surname was John Danks (1588-1659), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Woodhill in Bedfordshire. He published several works, including a treatise on the Book of Revelation.

In the 17th century, the DANKS name spread to other parts of England, with records showing bearers in counties like Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, and Lancashire. One example is Thomas Danks (1622-1694), a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol.

The surname DANKS can also be traced back to place names like Danks Lane in Hertfordshire and Danks Hill in Warwickshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.

Other notable individuals with the DANKS surname include William Danks (1670-1736), a renowned clockmaker from London, and John Danks (1759-1844), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Danks

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

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

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

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