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

Dilday, 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 Dilday surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dilday in America

Dilday is the 22856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dilday surname appeared 1,120 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dilday.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dilday 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 Dilday

The surname DILDAY is believed to have originated in England, with roots tracing back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "dile" and "dæg," which together translate to "valley day" or "valley dweller." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to people who lived in a particular valley or low-lying area.

While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in the Domesday Book, some historians have noted similarities between DILDAY and other surnames found in that historic survey, such as Dillow and Dillard. These variants lend credence to the theory of an Old English origin.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the DILDAY surname can be found in the Hertfordshire county records from the late 13th century, where a certain John Dilday is mentioned as a landowner. Around the same time, in neighboring Essex, there are records of a village called "Dildayesmuir," which may have been named after an early DILDAY family.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named William DILDAY was a respected cloth merchant and alderman in the town of Coventry. His descendants continued to hold positions of prominence in the region for several generations.

During the 16th century, the DILDAY surname began to spread beyond its presumed English heartland. In 1542, a man named Thomas DILDAY was recorded as a member of the King's Guard in Scotland, indicating that the name had crossed the border northward.

Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest recorded instances of the DILDAY name in the American colonies dates back to 1683, when a man named Edward DILDAY is listed as a landowner in Virginia. A few decades later, in 1722, a Thomas DILDAY was among the founders of a new settlement in what is now North Carolina.

As the centuries progressed, the DILDAY surname continued to be represented by notable individuals in various fields. For example, in the late 18th century, a British military officer named James DILDAY distinguished himself in the Napoleonic Wars. And in the 19th century, a prominent American politician named John DILDAY served as a U.S. Congressman from Tennessee.

While the origins of the DILDAY surname can be traced back to medieval England, it is clear that the name has since spread far and wide, with bearers making their mark in numerous countries and spheres of endeavor over the course of many centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dilday

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

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

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

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