2000
#2,354
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,082
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.22
Uncommon Last name
Dent
Derived from Old English meaning "valley" or referring to someone who lived in or near a dent or hollow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,547 Americans carry the last name Dent. That puts it at #2,443 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,714 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dent 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 Dent with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,714
Census rank
#2,443
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,430 bearers of the surname Dent in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2443rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dent, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.6%. The next largest groups are Black (36.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dent
The surname Dent originated in England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from the Old English word "dene," meaning a valley or a hollow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dent surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1199, where a person named Adam de Dene was mentioned. This suggests that the name may have originated in the Yorkshire Dales area, where numerous valleys and denes are found.
The Dent surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared in various spellings, such as "de Dene" and "de Dente," indicating its locational origin.
As the name spread across England, it took on different spellings and variations, such as Dente, Dunt, and Dunt. Some of these variations were likely influenced by regional dialects and the way the name was pronounced in different areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Dent include Sir Edward Dent (1490-1557), a prominent English judge and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Another notable figure was John Dent (1604-1659), an English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
In the 18th century, John Dent (1712-1787) was a renowned English clockmaker and inventor, known for his contributions to the development of the chronometer. His son, Thomas Dent (1745-1829), followed in his footsteps and became a successful clockmaker as well.
In the realm of literature, Ada Dent (1876-1963) was a British writer and poet, best known for her collection of poems titled "The Briars and Green Bracken." She was also a prominent figure in the suffragette movement.
Arthur Dent, a fictional character in Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series, is another notable bearer of the Dent surname, although he is a creation of literature rather than a historical figure.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dent
Among Census respondents with the surname Dent, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.6%. The next largest groups are Black (36.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dent 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 Dent surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.6% · 8,022
- Black or African American36.3% · 5,241
- Two or more races4.1% · 588
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 418
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 63
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dent
Dent 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
#2,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,873
+791 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 5.04
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#2,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,430
-443 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 4.83
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,354 | 14,082 | 5.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,436 | 14,873 | 5.04 | +791 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #2,443 | 14,430 | 4.83 | -443 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 7 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 Dent 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 | #2,436 | #2,443 | -0.3% |
| Count | 14,873 | 14,430 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.04 | 4.83 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dent bearers went from 14,873 to 14,430 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,436 to #2,443.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dent
FAQ
Dent surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dent?
Name Census estimates that about 16,547 living Americans carry the surname Dent. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,714 residents.
How common is Dent?
Dent ranks #2,443 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.83 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 14,430 people with the surname Dent. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,547), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.83 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 Dent.
Has Dent become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dent went from 14,873 recorded bearers to 14,430. That is a decrease of 443 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,436 to #2,443.
What does the Census say about the background of Dent?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dent, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.6%. The next largest groups are Black (36.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Dent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.6% (8,022 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dent appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.6%), Black (36.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Dent (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 Dent mean?
Derived from Old English meaning "valley" or referring to someone who lived in or near a dent or hollow. 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 Dent (4.83 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 Dent?
Want to know how many people have the surname Dent? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.