2000
#114,852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Darneal
A variation of the Irish surname Darnall, derived from place name meaning "the oak tree valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Darneal. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Darneal 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Darneal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Darneal, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (19.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Darneal
The surname DARNEAL is of English origin, derived from a location name in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
The name DARNEAL is thought to be a variant spelling of the place name Darnall, which was recorded as Darnhale in the Domesday Book of 1086. The place name itself is derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning "deer" and "halh" meaning "haugh" or "nook of land".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DARNEAL can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John de Darnhale is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the family had already adopted the locational surname by the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Sir Thomas Darnell (c.1500-1564), who served as a member of parliament and was involved in the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII.
Another prominent figure was Michael Darnell (1563-1637), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Rector of Lambeth and was involved in the translation of the King James Bible.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Captain Edward Darnell (c.1620-1680) fought for the Parliamentarian forces and was later appointed as a commissioner for the trial of King Charles I.
In the 18th century, John Darnall (1719-1796) was a British merchant and plantation owner in Virginia, who played a role in the American Revolutionary War as a loyalist to the British crown.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Nathaniel Darnell (1789-1857), an English landscape painter who exhibited his works at the Royal Academy and is known for his depictions of rural scenes.
Throughout its history, the surname DARNEAL has also been recorded with various spelling variations, such as Darnall, Darnell, Darnal, and Darnhall, reflecting the regional dialects and phonetic changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darneal
Among Census respondents with the surname Darneal, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (19.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Darneal 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 Darneal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.4% · 55
- Two or more races20.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native19.4% · 20
- Black or African American3.9% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Darneal
Darneal 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-23 bearers (-16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 26,288 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-15 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,042 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,852 | 141 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.3%) | Down 26,288 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 13,042 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 Darneal 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 | #141,140 | #154,182 | -9.2% |
| Count | 118 | 103 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Darneal bearers went from 118 to 103 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 13,042 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #154,182.
FAQ
Darneal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Darneal?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Darneal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Darneal?
Darneal ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Darneal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Darneal.
Has Darneal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Darneal went from 118 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Darneal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Darneal, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (19.4%). 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 Darneal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.4% (55 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Darneal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.4%), Two or More Races (20.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (19.4%). 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 Darneal (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 Darneal mean?
A variation of the Irish surname Darnall, derived from place name meaning "the oak tree valley". 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 Darneal (0.03 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 common is the surname Darneal?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Darneal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.