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

Dinan, 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 Dinan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dinan in America

Dinan is the 17249th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dinan surname appeared 1,642 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 Dinan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dinan 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 Dinan

The surname DINAN originates from the Brittany region of northwestern France, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the town of Dinan, located in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany. The town's name itself is thought to come from the Breton words "din" meaning "hill" and "an" meaning "the," referring to its strategic hilltop location.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the DINAN surname can be found in the cartulary of the Abbey of Marmoutier, dating back to the 12th century. This medieval manuscript documents a certain "Robertus de Dinant," suggesting the surname's use during this era. Additionally, the DINAN name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Normandy from the 13th century, further solidifying its presence in the region.

Notable individuals bearing the DINAN surname include Guillaume Dinan (c. 1240-1305), a French nobleman and military commander who served under King Philip III of France during the Eighth Crusade. Another prominent figure was Jean Dinan (1470-1529), a French jurist and diplomat who served as the ambassador of King Francis I to the Republic of Venice.

In England, the DINAN surname can be traced back to the 14th century, with records indicating the presence of a John Dinan in Somerset in 1327. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Scotland dates back to 1452, when a Richard Dinan is mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland.

The DINAN surname has also been associated with several place names throughout history. For instance, the village of Dinan in Cornwall, England, is believed to have been named after an early settler with the DINAN surname. Similarly, the town of Dinan in Brittany, France, is thought to have influenced the surname's development.

Other notable individuals with the DINAN surname include Edme-François Dinan (1658-1746), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, and Thomas Dinan (1837-1915), an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Dinan Silk Manufacturing Company in Pennsylvania.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dinan

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

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

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

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