2000
#2,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,940
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.17
Uncommon Last name
Dawkins
Derived from the Welsh patronymic name "Daw" or "Dawi," meaning "son of David" or "beloved."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,685 Americans carry the last name Dawkins. That puts it at #2,305 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,381 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dawkins 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 Dawkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,381
Census rank
#2,305
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,422 bearers of the surname Dawkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2305th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dawkins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dawkins
The surname Dawkins is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name "Deowine" or "Deor-wine", which translates to "dear friend" or "beloved friend". The name dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Dawkins can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared as "Deuuine", reflecting the spelling variations common in medieval times.
In the 13th century, the surname Dawkins began to emerge as a more established form, often associated with the place name "Dawkins" in Shropshire, England. This place name likely derived from the Old English "Deor-wine" and the suffix "-ingis", indicating a settlement or estate belonging to someone named Deor-wine.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Dawkins was John Dawkins, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. Another notable figure was Sir William Dawkins (c. 1460 - 1521), who served as a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire and was involved in the Wars of the Roses.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dawkins family gained prominence in various parts of England, particularly in Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire. Notable individuals from this period include Richard Dawkins (1557 - 1622), a wealthy merchant and landowner in Shropshire, and Walter Dawkins (1597 - 1669), a clergyman and author of religious works.
In the 18th century, Henry Dawkins (1728 - 1814) was a notable English antiquarian and collector of ancient manuscripts and artifacts. He played a significant role in preserving historical records and furthering the study of antiquities.
Moving into the 19th century, Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins (1859 - 1905) was a British diplomat and explorer who conducted extensive archaeological work in Cyprus and Greece, contributing greatly to the understanding of ancient civilizations in the region.
Throughout history, the Dawkins surname has been associated with various notable figures across various fields, including academia, literature, and science. One of the most prominent bearers of the name in modern times is Richard Dawkins (born 1941), the renowned evolutionary biologist, author, and outspoken advocate for atheism and scientific education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dawkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Dawkins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dawkins 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 Dawkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.5% · 9,172
- White31.5% · 4,854
- Two or more races4.9% · 757
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 518
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dawkins
Dawkins 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
#2,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,431
+1,491 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 5.23
Rank movement Up 19 places
2020
#2,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,422
-9 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 5.16
Rank movement Up 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,382 | 13,940 | 5.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,363 | 15,431 | 5.23 | +1,491 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 19 places |
| 2020 | #2,305 | 15,422 | 5.16 | -9 bearers (-0.1%) | Up 58 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 Dawkins 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 | #2,363 | #2,305 | 2.5% |
| Count | 15,431 | 15,422 | -0.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.23 | 5.16 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dawkins bearers went from 15,431 to 15,422 (-0.1% change). The surname moved up 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,363 to #2,305.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dawkins
FAQ
Dawkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dawkins?
Name Census estimates that about 17,685 living Americans carry the surname Dawkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,381 residents.
How common is Dawkins?
Dawkins ranks #2,305 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,422 people with the surname Dawkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,685), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Dawkins.
Has Dawkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dawkins went from 15,431 recorded bearers to 15,422. That is a decrease of 9 (-0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,363 to #2,305.
What does the Census say about the background of Dawkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dawkins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dawkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.5% (9,172 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dawkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (59.5%), White (31.5%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Dawkins (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 Dawkins mean?
Derived from the Welsh patronymic name "Daw" or "Dawi," meaning "son of David" or "beloved." 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 Dawkins (5.16 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 many people are called Dawkins?
See how many people have the surname Dawkins on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.