2000
#6,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.89
Rare Last name
Delano
Of French origin, derived from "de Lannoy," referring to someone from the town of Lannoy in northern France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,496 Americans carry the last name Delano. That puts it at #6,762 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,364 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Delano 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.
Bearers in the US
5.5K
1 in 62,364
Census rank
#6,762
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,793 bearers of the surname Delano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6762nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Delano, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Delano
The surname DELANO is of French origin, deriving from the Old French phrase "de l'aulne," meaning "from the alders." This phrase refers to a place where alder trees grew, suggesting that the name originated as a locational surname denoting someone who lived near or owned land with alder trees.
The DELANO name can be traced back to the 12th century in the Normandy region of northern France. Early spellings of the name included de Laulne, de Lalne, and de Laune, reflecting the various dialectal variations common in medieval times.
One of the earliest recorded references to the DELANO name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Lalna in Somerset.
During the 13th century, the DELANO name began to appear in other regions of France, including Brittany and Île-de-France. Notable early bearers of the name include Jean Delano, a merchant from Rouen who participated in the Seventh Crusade in 1248.
In the 16th century, the DELANO family established themselves in the Netherlands, with members serving as merchants and officials in the Dutch East India Company. One of the most prominent figures from this era was Philip Delano, born in 1602 in Leiden, who later emigrated to America and became one of the founding settlers of Plymouth Colony.
Another notable DELANO was François Delano, a French painter born in 1590 in Paris. His works, which included religious scenes and portraits, were displayed in churches and royal palaces throughout France.
The DELANO name also has a long history in Italy, particularly in the region of Tuscany. One of the earliest recorded Italian bearers was Guglielmo Delano, a nobleman from Florence who served as a diplomat in the 14th century.
In the 18th century, the DELANO family gained prominence in the United States through the descendants of Philip Delano, the Plymouth settler. His grandson, Dr. Thomas Delano, born in 1667, became a respected physician and served as a judge in colonial Massachusetts.
One of the most famous individuals with the DELANO surname was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, born in 1882. Although his branch of the family had adopted the spelling "Roosevelt," he was a direct descendant of the original Plymouth settler, Philip Delano.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delano
Among Census respondents with the surname Delano, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Delano 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 Delano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 4,227
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 230
- Two or more races3.5% · 167
- Black or African American1.8% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Delano
Delano 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
#6,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,392
+289 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 143 places
2020
#6,762
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,793
-599 bearers (-11.1%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 435 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,184 | 5,103 | 1.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,327 | 5,392 | 1.83 | +289 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 143 places |
| 2020 | #6,762 | 4,793 | 1.60 | -599 bearers (-11.1%) | Down 435 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 Delano 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 | #6,327 | #6,762 | -6.9% |
| Count | 5,392 | 4,793 | -11.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.60 | -12.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Delano bearers went from 5,392 to 4,793 (-11.1% change). The surname moved down 435 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,327 to #6,762.
FAQ
Delano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Delano?
Name Census estimates that about 5,496 living Americans carry the surname Delano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,364 residents.
How common is Delano?
Delano ranks #6,762 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,793 people with the surname Delano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,496), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Delano.
Has Delano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Delano went from 5,392 recorded bearers to 4,793. That is a decrease of 599 (-11.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,327 to #6,762.
What does the Census say about the background of Delano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Delano, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Delano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (4,227 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Delano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Delano (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 Delano mean?
Of French origin, derived from "de Lannoy," referring to someone from the town of Lannoy in northern France. 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 Delano (1.60 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 have the last name Delano?
If you just want to know how common the surname Delano is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.