Dollar last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Dollar

Derived from a German surname referring to someone living in a valley or low-lying area.

Dollar, 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 Dollar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dollar in America

Dollar is the 5429th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dollar surname appeared 6,414 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Dollar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dollar 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 5429 5120 5.86%
Count 6,414 6,289 1.97%
Proportion per 100k 2.17 2.33 -7.11%

The history of the last name Dollar

The surname Dollar has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "dol," which means "portion" or "share." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who received a particular portion of land or property.

In the early records, the name appears with various spellings, such as "Doler," "Doller," and "Dollard." One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1275, where a "Henricus le Doler" is mentioned.

The surname Dollar is also associated with certain place names in England. For instance, there is a village called Dollar in Gloucestershire, which may have influenced the spelling and usage of the name in that region.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Dollar was John Dollar, who was born in Oxfordshire around 1510. He was a prominent merchant and landowner in the area.

Another notable figure was Sir William Dollar (1583-1662), a wealthy merchant and Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury during the reign of Charles I. He played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause.

In the 17th century, the surname Dollar gained recognition through the work of John Dollar (1639-1701), a renowned English botanist and horticulturist. He was instrumental in introducing several plant species from the Americas to Europe.

The name Dollar also has connections to the American colonies. One example is Edward Dollar (1684-1744), who emigrated from England to Virginia in the early 1700s and became a prominent landowner and tobacco planter.

During the 18th century, a branch of the Dollar family settled in Scotland, where they made significant contributions to the textile industry. James Dollar (1753-1823) was a successful merchant and textile manufacturer in Glasgow, renowned for his innovative business practices.

Throughout history, the surname Dollar has been associated with various professions, including merchants, landowners, politicians, scientists, and industrialists. While the name may have originated from a humble reference to a portion or share of land, it has since gained recognition and prominence across different sectors and regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dollar

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

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 Dollar was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.43% 5,736
Non-Hispanic Black Only 5.24% 336
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.89% 57
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.12% 72
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.75% 112
Hispanic Origin 1.57% 101

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.43% 90.84% -1.56%
Black 5.24% 4.80% 8.76%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.89% 0.43% 69.70%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.12% 0.89% 22.89%
Two or More Races 1.75% 1.83% -4.47%
Hispanic 1.57% 1.21% 25.90%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Dollar last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/dollar-surname-popularity/.

"Dollar last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/dollar-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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