2000
#6,688
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,657
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.73
Rare Last name
Doering
A German occupational surname referring to someone living near or working with thorns or thorn bushes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,096 Americans carry the last name Doering. That puts it at #7,239 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,259 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Doering 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
5.1K
1 in 67,259
Census rank
#7,239
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,444 bearers of the surname Doering in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7239th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Doering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Doering
The surname Doering is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational name derived from the town of Döring, which is located in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The name itself is thought to be derived from the Old German word "dor," meaning "village" or "small settlement."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Doering can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus," a collection of historical documents from the Anhalt region, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in various forms, such as "Doring," "Doeringen," and "Doringhen," reflecting the variations in spelling common during that time period.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Johann Doering (c. 1430-1503) was a German theologian and professor at the University of Leipzig. He was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of his time and contributed to the development of scholastic theology.
Another individual of note was Matthias Doering (1531-1594), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor of law at various universities, including Leipzig and Wittenberg. His works on Roman law and legal theory were highly influential during the Renaissance period.
In the field of music, Johann Christoph Doering (1689-1763) was a German composer and organist who served in various churches and courts throughout his career. His compositions, which included sacred works and instrumental pieces, were widely performed and appreciated during the Baroque era.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl Wilhelm Doering (1817-1899) was a German philologist and professor of classical studies at the University of Berlin. He made significant contributions to the field of classical philology through his editions and translations of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
Throughout history, the surname Doering has also been associated with various places and locations, including the town of Döring itself, as well as other towns and villages where families with this surname resided. The name has undergone various spelling variations, such as "Döring," "Doring," and "Doeringk," reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doering
Among Census respondents with the surname Doering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Doering 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 Doering surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 4,072
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 159
- Two or more races3.3% · 146
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Doering
Doering 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
#7,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,754
+97 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 356 places
2020
#7,239
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,444
-310 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Down 195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,688 | 4,657 | 1.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,044 | 4,754 | 1.61 | +97 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 356 places |
| 2020 | #7,239 | 4,444 | 1.49 | -310 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 195 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 Doering 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 | #7,044 | #7,239 | -2.8% |
| Count | 4,754 | 4,444 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.61 | 1.49 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Doering bearers went from 4,754 to 4,444 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 195 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,044 to #7,239.
FAQ
Doering surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Doering?
Name Census estimates that about 5,096 living Americans carry the surname Doering. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,259 residents.
How common is Doering?
Doering ranks #7,239 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.49 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 4,444 people with the surname Doering. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,096), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.49 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 Doering.
Has Doering become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Doering went from 4,754 recorded bearers to 4,444. That is a decrease of 310 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,044 to #7,239.
What does the Census say about the background of Doering?
Among Census respondents with the surname Doering, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Doering in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (4,072 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Doering appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Doering (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 Doering mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone living near or working with thorns or thorn bushes. 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 Doering (1.49 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 share the surname Doering?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.