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

Dann, 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 Dann surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dann in America

Dann is the 8775th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dann surname appeared 3,735 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 Dann.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dann 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 Dann

The surname Dann has its origins in Germany, where it emerged during the medieval period around the 13th century. Initially, the name was a variant spelling of the Germanic personal name "Danne" or "Dan," which is derived from the Old High German word "dannen," meaning "from there" or "from that place."

This surname first appeared in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It was likely adopted as a descriptive name for someone who had relocated from a particular place or region, distinguishing them from others in their new community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a certain "Danno de Rochlitz" is mentioned in a charter dated 1285.

In the 14th century, there are records of a family bearing the name Dann residing in the city of Nuremberg, a prominent center of trade and commerce in the Holy Roman Empire. This suggests that the name had already established itself as a hereditary surname by that time.

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname Dann. One such person was Hans Dann (1561-1629), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg, known for his intricate landscapes and architectural drawings.

Another prominent figure was Johann Dann (1696-1773), a German composer and organist who served at the court of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. His compositions, particularly for the organ and harpsichord, were highly regarded in his time.

In the 19th century, Johann Peter Dann (1823-1898) was a prominent German-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the brewing industry in St. Louis, Missouri. He founded the Dann Brewery and was actively involved in various charitable endeavors.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dann surname in England can be traced back to the 16th century, when a family bearing this name settled in the county of Suffolk. Notably, Thomas Dann (1532-1592) was a prominent English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Throughout its history, the surname Dann has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as the village of Dann in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and the town of Dann in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dann

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!