Dillow last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Dillow

Derived from a place name meaning "dell frequented by wolves" in Old English.

Dillow, 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 Dillow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dillow in America

Dillow is the 9389th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dillow surname appeared 3,464 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Dillow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dillow 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9389 9298 0.97%
Count 3,464 3,223 7.21%
Proportion per 100k 1.17 1.19 -1.69%

The history of the last name Dillow

The surname Dillow has its origins in England, dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "dill" and "hlaw," which together meant "a hill or mound where dill grew." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with a specific geographic location or landmark where dill, an aromatic herb, was prevalent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dillow can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire from the year 1195, where a person named Richard Dillow is mentioned. The surname also appears in various other historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire and the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire.

In the 15th century, the name Dillow was particularly concentrated in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. Some notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include John Dillow, a landowner from Shrewsbury who was recorded in 1467, and William Dillow, a merchant from Stafford who is mentioned in a charter from 1489.

As the centuries passed, the Dillow surname continued to spread across various parts of England, with variations in spelling such as Dillowe, Dyllowe, and Diloe emerging. One prominent figure with this name was Sir Thomas Dillow (1618-1695), a Member of Parliament for the borough of Stafford during the reign of King Charles II.

In the 18th century, the Dillow family had established itself in several English counties, including Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire. Notable individuals from this era include Reverend John Dillow (1721-1789), a clergyman and author from Warwickshire, and Captain William Dillow (1745-1823), a naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War.

Another significant figure in the history of the Dillow surname was Sir Walter Dillow (1798-1867), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Gloucestershire. He made his fortune in the textile industry and was knighted for his charitable contributions to various causes, including the founding of a school in his hometown.

Throughout its long history, the surname Dillow has maintained a presence in various parts of England, with families bearing this name contributing to various fields and leaving their mark on the country's rich tapestry of cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dillow

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

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 Dillow was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.67% 3,314
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.78% 27
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.40% 14
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 15
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.13% 39
Hispanic Origin 1.59% 55

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 Dillow has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.67% 96.03% -0.38%
Black 0.78% 1.15% -38.34%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.40% 0.25% 46.15%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 0.31% 32.43%
Two or More Races 1.13% 1.43% -23.44%
Hispanic 1.59% 0.84% 61.73%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dillow, 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!

"Dillow last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/dillow-surname-popularity/.

"Dillow last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/dillow-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Dillow last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/dillow-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.