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

Dawes, 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 Dawes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dawes in America

Dawes is the 5452nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dawes surname appeared 6,383 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Dawes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dawes 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 Dawes

The surname Dawes originates from England and is believed to date back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Daw," which was a diminutive form of the name David. This nickname was often given to someone who had a dark complexion or was deemed to resemble a jackdaw.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dawes can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195, where a person named Peter Daw is mentioned. The name Dawes is also recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, referring to a person named Walter Dawe.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are no direct references to the surname Dawes, but there are mentions of places like Dawes Green in Essex and Dawes Field in Gloucestershire, which may have contributed to the development of the surname.

The surname Dawes has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Daw, Dawe, Dawes, and Daws. These variations are often found in historical records and can be attributed to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.

One notable figure with the surname Dawes was Sir William Dawes (1617-1669), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire during the reign of Charles I. Another prominent individual was William Dawes (1745-1799), an American patriot who participated in the Boston Tea Party and served as a messenger during the American Revolutionary War, famously alerting the Colonial militia of the British troops' movements in 1775.

Other historical figures with the surname Dawes include Henry Dawes (1816-1903), a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and a prominent figure in the abolition movement; Charles G. Dawes (1865-1951), an American banker, diplomat, and the 30th Vice President of the United States under Calvin Coolidge; and Benjamin Dawes (1670-1723), an English Presbyterian minister and theological writer.

The surname Dawes has a rich history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including politicians, military figures, religious leaders, and writers, making it a significant part of the English and American cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dawes

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

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

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

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