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

Darwin, 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 Darwin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Darwin in America

Darwin is the 15434th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Darwin surname appeared 1,898 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 Darwin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Darwin 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 Darwin

The surname DARWIN is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "deor" meaning "deer", combined with the word "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "farm". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century in the village of Derwent, near Derby in Derbyshire. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a deer park or enclosure.

In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "de Deorwentun" in the Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire. The earliest known bearer of the name was Reginald de Derewentun, who was mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199.

The DARWIN surname is also found in various spellings in historical records, such as Derwent, Derwentwater, and Darwent. One of the earliest recorded examples is Richard de Derwent, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in the form of "Darwyn" in the Subsidy Rolls of Derbyshire in 1541, where a John Darwyn was listed. Around this time, the surname also appears in the nearby counties of Staffordshire and Cheshire.

One of the most famous bearers of the DARWIN surname was Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), the renowned English naturalist, geologist, and biologist best known for his contributions to the theory of evolution. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), was a physician, poet, and natural philosopher, and his father, Robert Waring Darwin (1766-1848), was a wealthy physician and financier.

Other notable individuals with the DARWIN surname include:

1. George Howard Darwin (1845-1912), an English mathematician and astronomer, and the son of Charles Darwin.
2. Leonard Darwin (1850-1943), a British soldier, politician, and eugenicist, and another son of Charles Darwin.
3. Horace Darwin (1851-1928), an English engineer and inventor, and the youngest son of Charles Darwin.
4. Bernard Darwin (1876-1961), an English golf writer and grandson of Charles Darwin.
5. Sir Sacheverell Sitwell (1897-1988), an English writer and poet who was born Sacheverell Darwin Sitwell, a descendant of Charles Darwin.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Darwin

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

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

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

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