2000
#11,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Dendy
Derived from a place name meaning "Dane's island" in Old English, referring to an island settled by Danes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,595 Americans carry the last name Dendy. That puts it at #12,976 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,083 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dendy 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 Dendy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 132,083
Census rank
#12,976
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,263 bearers of the surname Dendy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12976th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dendy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dendy
The surname Dendy originates from England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "dene" meaning a valley or a hollow, and "ey" meaning an island or a piece of dry land surrounded by water or marsh. This suggests that the name may have originated from a place name referring to a valley or a piece of dry land near a marsh.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Dendy can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from the year 1195, where a person named Radulfus de Deneye is listed. This suggests that the name may have been associated with a place called Deneye or a similar sounding location in Lincolnshire.
The Dendy surname is also mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1310, which lists a William de Dendy as a landowner. This record indicates that the name had spread to other parts of England by the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1524, where a John Dendy is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the Dendy family had established itself in the county of Sussex by that time.
One notable figure with the surname Dendy was Sir John Dendy (1615-1689), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire during the 17th century.
Another prominent individual was Walter Cooper Dendy (1794-1871), an English lawyer and writer who published several works on legal topics and was a member of the Inner Temple in London.
In the 19th century, Frank Dendy (1838-1908) was a notable English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club and was also a renowned artist and illustrator.
Another notable figure was Herbert Dendy (1842-1918), a British zoologist who made significant contributions to the study of sponges and was a fellow of the Royal Society.
Lastly, Walter Dendy (1848-1920) was a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Savoy Hotel and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
These examples demonstrate the wide range of fields and professions in which individuals with the surname Dendy have made their mark throughout history, from law and politics to sports, art, science, and architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dendy
Among Census respondents with the surname Dendy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dendy 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 Dendy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.0% · 1,335
- Black or African American34.3% · 777
- Two or more races3.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dendy
Dendy 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
#12,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,523
+122 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 386 places
2020
#12,976
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,263
-260 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 653 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,937 | 2,401 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,323 | 2,523 | 0.86 | +122 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 386 places |
| 2020 | #12,976 | 2,263 | 0.76 | -260 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 653 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 Dendy 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 | #12,323 | #12,976 | -5.3% |
| Count | 2,523 | 2,263 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.76 | -12.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dendy bearers went from 2,523 to 2,263 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 653 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,323 to #12,976.
FAQ
Dendy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dendy?
Name Census estimates that about 2,595 living Americans carry the surname Dendy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,083 residents.
How common is Dendy?
Dendy ranks #12,976 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,263 people with the surname Dendy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,595), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dendy.
Has Dendy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dendy went from 2,523 recorded bearers to 2,263. That is a decrease of 260 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,323 to #12,976.
What does the Census say about the background of Dendy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dendy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Dendy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (1,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dendy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.0%), Black (34.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Dendy (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 Dendy mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Dane's island" in Old English, referring to an island settled by Danes. 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 Dendy (0.76 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 Americans have the surname Dendy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.