2000
#10,888
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,683
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Doney
Originated from the medieval personal name Done, a pet form of the Latin name Donatus, meaning "given."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,907 Americans carry the last name Doney. That puts it at #11,811 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,907 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Doney 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 Doney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,907
Census rank
#11,811
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,535 bearers of the surname Doney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11811th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Doney, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (13.4%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Doney
The surname Doney has its origins in England, and it is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English word "dun," meaning a hill or a down, and the suffix "-ey," which signifies an island or a place surrounded by water.
The name was initially associated with people who resided near a hill or a down, particularly those located near bodies of water such as rivers or streams. It is thought that the earliest bearers of the name were inhabitants of areas with such geographical features.
Historical records show that the name Doney appeared in various forms and spellings throughout the centuries. Some of the earliest recorded instances include Richard de Doney, who lived in Lincolnshire in 1273, and John Dony, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
The Doney surname can also be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name had already established itself in England by the 11th century.
Notably, the name Doney has been associated with several prominent individuals throughout history. One such figure was John Doney, a 16th-century English clergyman and academic who served as the President of St John's College, Cambridge, from 1535 to 1549.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir John Doney, a 17th-century English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire between 1640 and 1653. He played a significant role in the English Civil War and was a prominent supporter of the Parliamentarian cause.
In the 18th century, James Doney (1720-1789) was a renowned English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. George's Bloomsbury and the former Middlesex Hospital.
Moving into the 19th century, William Doney (1809-1889) was a British naval officer and explorer who served in the Royal Navy and participated in several expeditions to the Arctic regions, contributing significantly to the mapping and exploration of those areas.
Lastly, in the 20th century, John Doney (1915-1995) was a renowned British playwright and screenwriter, best known for his works such as "The Judas Tree" and "The Naked Runner," which were adapted into successful films.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doney
Among Census respondents with the surname Doney, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (13.4%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Doney 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 Doney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.9% · 1,899
- American Indian and Alaska Native13.4% · 339
- Two or more races5.8% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 104
- Black or African American1.3% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Doney
Doney 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
#11,474
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,743
+60 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 586 places
2020
#11,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,535
-208 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 337 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,888 | 2,683 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,474 | 2,743 | 0.93 | +60 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 586 places |
| 2020 | #11,811 | 2,535 | 0.85 | -208 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 337 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 Doney 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 | #11,474 | #11,811 | -2.9% |
| Count | 2,743 | 2,535 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.85 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Doney bearers went from 2,743 to 2,535 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 337 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,474 to #11,811.
FAQ
Doney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Doney?
Name Census estimates that about 2,907 living Americans carry the surname Doney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,907 residents.
How common is Doney?
Doney ranks #11,811 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,535 people with the surname Doney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Doney.
Has Doney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Doney went from 2,743 recorded bearers to 2,535. That is a decrease of 208 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,474 to #11,811.
What does the Census say about the background of Doney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Doney, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (13.4%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Doney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (1,899 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Doney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (13.4%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Doney (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 Doney mean?
Originated from the medieval personal name Done, a pet form of the Latin name Donatus, meaning "given." 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 Doney (0.85 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 have the last name Doney?
Find out how many people have the surname Doney on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.