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

Dauphin, 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 Dauphin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dauphin in America

Dauphin is the 17202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dauphin surname appeared 1,646 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 Dauphin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dauphin 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 Dauphin

The surname Dauphin is of French origin, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French word "dauphin," which means "dolphin." The name's origins can be traced back to the Dauphine region of southeastern France, where the ruling princes were given the title "Dauphin" and bore a dolphin on their coats of arms.

In the early 12th century, the Count of Albon became the first Dauphin of Viennois, a region that later became part of the Dauphine. The title passed through several noble families until it was eventually acquired by the French Crown in 1349, when the last Dauphin of Viennois sold his lands and title to the future King Charles V.

The name Dauphin gained prominence during the reign of Charles V, who became the first heir to the French throne to bear the title of Dauphin. Subsequent heirs to the throne were also known as Dauphins, and the name became closely associated with the French monarchy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dauphin can be found in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a person named Guillaume Dauphin. In the 14th century, a nobleman named Jean Dauphin was a prominent figure in the Dauphine region.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname Dauphin. These include:

1. Jean Dauphin (c.1380-1456), a French nobleman and military leader during the Hundred Years' War.
2. Jacques Dauphin (1535-1605), a French physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life.
3. Louis Dauphin (1661-1711), the eldest son of King Louis XIV of France and heir apparent to the French throne, known as the Grand Dauphin.
4. François Dauphin (1768-1795), a French revolutionary and military officer who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars.
5. Charles Dauphin (1845-1919), a French painter and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life in Brittany.

The name Dauphin has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Dauphine-sur-Loire, a commune in the Loire Valley, and Dauphine-Saint-Rémy, a village in the Auvergne region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dauphin

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

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

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

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