2000
#561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,206
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.09
Uncommon Last name
Davenport
An English locational surname referring to someone from a town near the Dane's port or landing place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 61,505 Americans carry the last name Davenport. That puts it at #616 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,573 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Davenport 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Davenport with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
62K
1 in 5,573
Census rank
#616
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
54K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 53,635 bearers of the surname Davenport in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 616th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Davenport, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Davenport
The surname Davenport originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Davenport in Cheshire, which means "port for the hill called Davenport". The name is composed of the Old English words "dæfan" meaning "demon" or "fairy", and "port" meaning "town".
One of the earliest records of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199, where it is spelled "Davenport". The Davenport family was prominent in Cheshire and held lands there from the 12th century onwards. The name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Devenport".
In the 13th century, several members of the Davenport family were recorded in various documents, including John Davenport, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272. Another notable figure from this period was Sir John Davenport, who was knighted in 1337 for his service during the Hundred Years' War.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Davenports were a prominent family in Cheshire and Staffordshire. One of the most famous Davenports was John Davenport (1597-1670), a Puritan minister who founded the colony of New Haven in Connecticut, USA.
Other notable Davenports include Sir Samuel Davenport (1718-1786), a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and Sir Humphry Davenport (1566-1645), an English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Davenport name spread across England and beyond as people migrated to other parts of the British Empire and the United States. Some well-known Davenports from this period include Edward Davenport (1777-1847), an English actor and playwright, and Harry Davenport (1866-1949), an American actor who appeared in over 200 films.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Davenport
Among Census respondents with the surname Davenport, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Davenport 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 Davenport surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.2% · 37,089
- Black or African American21.4% · 11,503
- Two or more races4.7% · 2,513
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,795
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 369
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 366
Timeline
Historical Census data for Davenport
Davenport 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
#608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,895
+1,689 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 18.95
Rank movement Down 47 places
2020
#616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,635
-2,260 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 17.94
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #561 | 54,206 | 20.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #608 | 55,895 | 18.95 | +1,689 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 47 places |
| 2020 | #616 | 53,635 | 17.94 | -2,260 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 8 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 Davenport 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 | #608 | #616 | -1.3% |
| Count | 55,895 | 53,635 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 18.95 | 17.94 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Davenport bearers went from 55,895 to 53,635 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #608 to #616.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Davenport
FAQ
Davenport surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Davenport?
Name Census estimates that about 61,505 living Americans carry the surname Davenport. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,573 residents.
How common is Davenport?
Davenport ranks #616 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 53,635 people with the surname Davenport. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (61,505), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Davenport.
Has Davenport become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Davenport went from 55,895 recorded bearers to 53,635. That is a decrease of 2,260 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #608 to #616.
What does the Census say about the background of Davenport?
Among Census respondents with the surname Davenport, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Davenport in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.2% (37,089 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Davenport appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.2%), Black (21.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Davenport (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 Davenport mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone from a town near the Dane's port or landing place. 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 Davenport (17.94 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 Davenport?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Davenport, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.