2000
#2,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,698
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.34
Uncommon Last name
Dorman
An occupational surname for a doorkeeper or gatekeeper, derived from the Old English word "duru" meaning door.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,481 Americans carry the last name Dorman. That puts it at #3,234 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dorman 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 Dorman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,462
Census rank
#3,234
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,884 bearers of the surname Dorman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3234th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dorman
The surname DORMAN is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "dor" meaning door and "mann" meaning man, thus referring to the occupation of a doorkeeper or gatekeeper. It likely emerged during the medieval period in England, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name was most prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire, where many early records of the surname can be found. Variations in spelling include Dorman, Doreman, Dorrman, and Dorreman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1275, which mentions a Richard Dorreman. The Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1327 also list a John Dorman.
In the 14th century, a notable bearer of the name was William Dorman, a prominent merchant and landowner from Bristol, who was recorded in various legal documents and property records between 1360 and 1390.
The Dorman surname also appears in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the specific individuals mentioned are not clearly identified.
During the 16th century, a prominent figure was John Dorman (c. 1510 - c. 1580), an English Catholic priest and theologian who fled to Flanders during the Reformation and wrote several treatises defending the Catholic faith.
In the 17th century, Thomas Dorman (1618 - 1688) was a renowned English Puritan minister and author, known for his book "The Revived Doctrines of the Protestant Religion."
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Robert Dorman (1650 - 1726), a wealthy English merchant and landowner who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1707.
In the 19th century, Ebenezer Dorman (1809 - 1880) was an American engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of early typewriters and mechanical calculators.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname DORMAN, which has its roots in the medieval English occupation of doorkeepers and gatekeepers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dorman 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 Dorman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 9,403
- Black or African American5.3% · 576
- Two or more races3.7% · 402
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 355
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 66
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dorman
Dorman 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
#3,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,739
+41 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 241 places
2020
#3,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,884
-855 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 3.64
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,812 | 11,698 | 4.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,053 | 11,739 | 3.98 | +41 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 241 places |
| 2020 | #3,234 | 10,884 | 3.64 | -855 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 181 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 Dorman 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 | #3,053 | #3,234 | -5.9% |
| Count | 11,739 | 10,884 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.98 | 3.64 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dorman bearers went from 11,739 to 10,884 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,053 to #3,234.
FAQ
Dorman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dorman?
Name Census estimates that about 12,481 living Americans carry the surname Dorman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,462 residents.
How common is Dorman?
Dorman ranks #3,234 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,884 people with the surname Dorman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,481), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Dorman.
Has Dorman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dorman went from 11,739 recorded bearers to 10,884. That is a decrease of 855 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,053 to #3,234.
What does the Census say about the background of Dorman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Dorman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (9,403 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dorman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Black (5.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Dorman (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 Dorman mean?
An occupational surname for a doorkeeper or gatekeeper, derived from the Old English word "duru" meaning door. 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 Dorman (3.64 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 Dorman?
Want to know how common the surname Dorman is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.