2000
#15,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,800
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Darnall
Derived from a place name meaning "hidden nook" or "secret retreat" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,063 Americans carry the last name Darnall. That puts it at #15,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Darnall 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.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,144
Census rank
#15,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,799 bearers of the surname Darnall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Darnall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Darnall
The surname Darnall is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is a habitational name, derived from the village of Darnall, near Sheffield in South Yorkshire. The name likely comes from the Old English words "deor" meaning deer and "halh" meaning nook or corner of land, suggesting an area where deer were plentiful.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England, the village is mentioned as "Darnhale". This early spelling variation highlights the name's evolution over time. Darnall was also the name of a manor and estate in the area, recorded in documents from the 12th century onwards.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Darnall is John de Darnall, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301. Another early bearer was William de Darnall, who was listed in the Inquisitiones Post Mortem of Yorkshire in 1379.
In the 16th century, the Darnall family was prominent in the Sheffield area. One notable figure was Sir Thomas Darnall (c.1500-1580), a wealthy landowner and member of the gentry. He served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1562.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Colonel Ralph Darnall (c.1610-1663) was a staunch Royalist and fought for King Charles I. He was eventually captured and imprisoned by the Parliamentarians.
In the 18th century, John Darnall (1723-1804) was a successful merchant and landowner in Yorkshire. He was also a philanthropist and helped establish several schools in the region.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir William Darnall (1786-1865), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was knighted for his services and reached the rank of Admiral.
The Darnall surname has also been found in other parts of England, as well as in Ireland and Scotland, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries. Overall, it remains a well-established English surname with a rich history spanning several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darnall
Among Census respondents with the surname Darnall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Darnall 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 Darnall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 1,630
- Two or more races4.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 14
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Darnall
Darnall 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
#14,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,995
+195 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Up 194 places
2020
#15,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,799
-196 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 783 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,042 | 1,800 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,848 | 1,995 | 0.68 | +195 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 194 places |
| 2020 | #15,631 | 1,799 | 0.60 | -196 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 783 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 Darnall 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 | #14,848 | #15,631 | -5.3% |
| Count | 1,995 | 1,799 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.60 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Darnall bearers went from 1,995 to 1,799 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 783 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,848 to #15,631.
FAQ
Darnall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Darnall?
Name Census estimates that about 2,063 living Americans carry the surname Darnall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,144 residents.
How common is Darnall?
Darnall ranks #15,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,799 people with the surname Darnall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Darnall.
Has Darnall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Darnall went from 1,995 recorded bearers to 1,799. That is a decrease of 196 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,848 to #15,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Darnall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Darnall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Darnall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (1,630 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Darnall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Darnall (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 Darnall mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hidden nook" or "secret retreat" in Old English. 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 Darnall (0.60 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 surname Darnall?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.