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

Denson, 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 Denson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Denson in America

Denson is the 2893rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Denson surname appeared 12,419 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Denson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Denson 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 Denson

The surname DENSON has its origins in England and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "dene" meaning valley or dell, and "sunu" meaning son, thus translating to "son of the valley dweller." The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears as de Dene in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk in 1273.

DENSON is a locational surname, indicating that the first bearers of this name hailed from a specific place. Records suggest that the name was initially associated with the village of Denton in Lancashire, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Dene-tun," meaning "the settlement in the valley."

In the 14th century, the name appeared as Deneson, Denneson, and Denyson in various records across counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Cheshire. This variation in spelling was common during that era due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname DENSON was John Denyson, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379. Another notable figure was Richard Denson, a merchant and landowner from Nottinghamshire, who lived in the late 15th century.

During the 16th century, the name was further anglicized to its modern spelling of DENSON. Thomas Denson (1547-1615) was a respected clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Buntingford in Hertfordshire.

In the 17th century, Edward Denson (1629-1694) was a prominent English lawyer and legal writer who served as the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1688 to 1692.

Another notable figure was Sir Robert Denson (1675-1741), a British naval officer who commanded several ships during the War of the Spanish Succession and later served as a Member of Parliament for Plymouth.

As the surname spread across England, it also found its way to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to the American colonies. William Denson (1718-1788) was a early settler in Virginia and a prominent planter in Spotsylvania County.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Denson

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!