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

Denison, 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 Denison surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Denison in America

Denison is the 5364th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Denison surname appeared 6,490 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 Denison.

We can also compare 2010 data for Denison 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 Denison

The surname DENISON has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name Dennis, which means "from Dionysius" or "follower of Dionysus". The name Denison was originally a patronymic, meaning "son of Denis".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DENISON can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it is listed as "Dionys". This suggests that the name was already in use by this time, though the spelling had not yet been standardized.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Denysoun" and "Denyson" in records from Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The spelling "Denison" became more common by the 15th century.

The DENISON surname has been linked to several place names in England, including Denison Terrace in Durham and Denison Farm in Northumberland. These place names likely derived from early bearers of the surname who settled in those areas.

One notable early bearer of the DENISON surname was John Denison (c.1515-1589), an English scholar and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Peterborough from 1589 until his death.

Another prominent figure was Daniel Denison (1613-1682), a colonial military officer and one of the founders of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was born in England and immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631.

In the 18th century, William Denison (1716-1768) was a British naval officer who served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1765 to 1768.

John Denison (1785-1842) was an English politician and landowner who served as Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1835 to 1842.

Sir William Thomas Denison (1804-1871) was an Australian colonial governor who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861 and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866.

The surname DENISON has a long and distinguished history, with bearers making significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries. Its origins can be traced back to medieval England, and it has been associated with several notable figures over the course of its evolution.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Denison

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

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

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

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