2000
#11,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,415
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Dinwiddie
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place of the same name, meaning "fort in the wood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,764 Americans carry the last name Dinwiddie. That puts it at #12,315 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,007 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dinwiddie 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.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 124,007
Census rank
#12,315
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,410 bearers of the surname Dinwiddie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12315th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinwiddie, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dinwiddie
The surname Dinwiddie has its origins in Scotland, where it can be traced back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic words "dùn" meaning a hill or fort, and "fhidh" meaning deer, suggesting a connection to a place name referring to a deer-hunting ground near a hill or fort.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners and nobles who pledged allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "de Dunfedyc," which is thought to be an early spelling variation of Dinwiddie.
In the 14th century, the Dinwiddie family held lands in the parish of Applegarth, Dumfriesshire, where they were prominent landowners. A notable member of the family during this time was John Dinwiddie, born around 1350, who served as a local magistrate and is mentioned in various legal documents of the era.
The name Dinwiddie is also associated with the town of Dinwiddie, Virginia, which was named after Robert Dinwiddie, a Scottish merchant and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. He played a significant role in the French and Indian War and was instrumental in promoting the military career of George Washington.
Another notable figure with the surname Dinwiddie was Robert Dinwiddie, an American engineer and inventor born in 1830. He is credited with developing the first successful pneumatic locomotive, which used compressed air as a source of power.
In the 19th century, the surname Dinwiddie was found in various parts of Scotland, as well as in areas of England and Ireland where Scottish immigrants settled. One prominent individual was Alexander Dinwiddie, born in 1825, who served as the Chief Constable of Renfrewshire, Scotland, from 1865 to 1898.
Throughout history, the surname Dinwiddie has been spelled in various ways, including Dunfedyc, Dunwiddie, Dinwiddy, and Dinwoodie, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dinwiddie
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinwiddie, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dinwiddie 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 Dinwiddie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 1,754
- Black or African American17.6% · 425
- Two or more races4.4% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie 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
#12,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,514
+99 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 501 places
2020
#12,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,410
-104 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 55 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,869 | 2,415 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,370 | 2,514 | 0.85 | +99 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 501 places |
| 2020 | #12,315 | 2,410 | 0.81 | -104 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 55 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 Dinwiddie 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 | #12,370 | #12,315 | 0.4% |
| Count | 2,514 | 2,410 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.81 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dinwiddie bearers went from 2,514 to 2,410 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 55 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,370 to #12,315.
FAQ
Dinwiddie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dinwiddie?
Name Census estimates that about 2,764 living Americans carry the surname Dinwiddie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,007 residents.
How common is Dinwiddie?
Dinwiddie ranks #12,315 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,410 people with the surname Dinwiddie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,764), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dinwiddie.
Has Dinwiddie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dinwiddie went from 2,514 recorded bearers to 2,410. That is a decrease of 104 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,370 to #12,315.
What does the Census say about the background of Dinwiddie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dinwiddie, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dinwiddie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (1,754 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dinwiddie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.8%), Black (17.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dinwiddie (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 Dinwiddie mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place of the same name, meaning "fort in the wood." 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 Dinwiddie (0.81 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 are called Dinwiddie?
See how many people have the last name Dinwiddie on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.