2000
#10,941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,669
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Doolin
An Irish toponymic surname referring to someone from Dúlainn, meaning "black pool" or "deep pool" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,020 Americans carry the last name Doolin. That puts it at #11,441 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Doolin 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 Doolin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,495
Census rank
#11,441
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,634 bearers of the surname Doolin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11441st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Doolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Doolin
The surname DOOLIN is of Irish origin, originating from the Irish Gaelic name Ó Dobhailén, which means "descendant of Dobhailén". Dobhailén is a personal name derived from the Irish words "dubh" meaning "dark" and "ail" meaning "rock". It is thought to have referred to someone who lived near a dark or black rock formation.
The earliest records of the name can be found in County Clare, Ireland, where the name was most prevalent in the Burren region. The name is closely associated with the town of Doolin, which was named after the family who were the local landowners and chieftains in the area during the Middle Ages.
In the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history, there are references to the Ó Dobhailén family as early as the 13th century. One notable mention is of Conor Ó Dobhailén, who was a leader of the clan in the late 1200s.
The name can also be found in the Irish Fiants, a collection of official records from the 16th and 17th centuries. These records show variations in spelling, such as Dooling, Doolin, and Dowling.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Cornelius Doolin (c. 1580-1655), a landowner and chieftain in County Clare. Another notable figure was Teige Doolin (c. 1620-1690), a poet and storyteller from the same region.
In later centuries, the name spread beyond Ireland as individuals emigrated to other parts of the world. Some notable bearers of the name include:
1. Charles Hallett Doolin (1824-1905), an American businessman and politician from Ohio.
2. James Hugh Doolin (1858-1935), an American jurist and judge from Oklahoma.
3. William Edward Doolin (1858-1896), an American outlaw and leader of the Doolin-Dalton gang in the American Old West.
4. Paul Doolin (1909-1992), an American baseball player and manager in the Major Leagues.
5. William Patrick Doolin (1928-2016), an American Roman Catholic priest and bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doolin
Among Census respondents with the surname Doolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Doolin 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 Doolin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 2,268
- Black or African American5.0% · 131
- Two or more races4.3% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Doolin
Doolin 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
#11,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,812
+143 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 300 places
2020
#11,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,634
-178 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 200 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,941 | 2,669 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,241 | 2,812 | 0.95 | +143 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 300 places |
| 2020 | #11,441 | 2,634 | 0.88 | -178 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 200 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 Doolin 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 | #11,241 | #11,441 | -1.8% |
| Count | 2,812 | 2,634 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.88 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Doolin bearers went from 2,812 to 2,634 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 200 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,241 to #11,441.
FAQ
Doolin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Doolin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,020 living Americans carry the surname Doolin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,495 residents.
How common is Doolin?
Doolin ranks #11,441 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,634 people with the surname Doolin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,020), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Doolin.
Has Doolin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Doolin went from 2,812 recorded bearers to 2,634. That is a decrease of 178 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,241 to #11,441.
What does the Census say about the background of Doolin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Doolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Doolin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (2,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Doolin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Doolin (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 Doolin mean?
An Irish toponymic surname referring to someone from Dúlainn, meaning "black pool" or "deep pool" in Gaelic. 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 Doolin (0.88 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 Doolin?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Doolin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.