2000
#1,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,342
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.80
Uncommon Last name
Dobson
An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold dobbers, a type of wooden bowl.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,409 Americans carry the last name Dobson. That puts it at #1,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,010 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dobson 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 Dobson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,010
Census rank
#1,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,670 bearers of the surname Dobson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobson, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dobson
The surname Dobson is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, meaning it originated as a name given to the son of someone named Dob or Dobber. These were common nicknames or diminutive forms of the name Robert in the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Dobson can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, England, from 1273. It appeared as 'Dobbessone' in this document. Over time, the spelling evolved to the modern form of Dobson.
The name is also closely associated with the historic county of Yorkshire in northern England. Many Dobson families lived in this region throughout the medieval and early modern periods. The Yorkshire Parish Records from the 16th and 17th centuries contain numerous references to individuals with the surname Dobson.
One notable historical figure with the name was William Dobson (1610-1646), an English portrait painter who was a contemporary of Anthony van Dyck. He painted portraits of many important figures of the English Civil War era, including King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
Another prominent Dobson was John Dobson (1787-1865), a renowned architect from the north-east of England. He designed several notable buildings in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding area, including the Anglican cathedral and parts of Newcastle Central Station.
In the literary world, Susanna Dobson (1835-1895) was a notable 19th-century English poet and writer. She published several volumes of poetry and was known for her works depicting rural life and nature.
The Dobson surname also has connections to early American history. One of the first recorded instances was Thomas Dobson (c.1617-1689), who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in the 1630s and became a prominent merchant and landowner in the colony.
Another historically significant figure was James Dobson (1744-1808), an Irish-born American printer and publisher. He established one of the first publishing houses in Philadelphia and printed the first English-language edition of the Bible in the United States in 1808.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dobson
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobson, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Dobson 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 Dobson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 13,877
- Black or African American16.7% · 3,118
- Two or more races4.2% · 790
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 645
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 133
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 107
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dobson
Dobson 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
#1,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,419
+1,077 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 6.58
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#1,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,670
-749 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 6.25
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,798 | 18,342 | 6.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,846 | 19,419 | 6.58 | +1,077 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #1,886 | 18,670 | 6.25 | -749 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 40 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 Dobson 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 | #1,846 | #1,886 | -2.2% |
| Count | 19,419 | 18,670 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.58 | 6.25 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dobson bearers went from 19,419 to 18,670 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,846 to #1,886.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dobson
FAQ
Dobson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dobson?
Name Census estimates that about 21,409 living Americans carry the surname Dobson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,010 residents.
How common is Dobson?
Dobson ranks #1,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,670 people with the surname Dobson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,409), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Dobson.
Has Dobson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dobson went from 19,419 recorded bearers to 18,670. That is a decrease of 749 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,846 to #1,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Dobson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dobson, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Dobson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (13,877 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dobson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.3%), Black (16.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Dobson (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 Dobson mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold dobbers, a type of wooden bowl. 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 Dobson (6.25 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 Dobson?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Dobson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.