2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dornsife
Of German origin, referring to someone from a village named Dornsife.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Dornsife. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dornsife 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Dornsife in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dornsife, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dornsife
The surname DORNSIFE originated in the German-speaking regions of central Europe, likely in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "dorn" meaning "thorn" and "sife" which may have referred to a small stream or brook, suggesting that the name denoted someone who lived near a thorny brook or stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 1486 parish records of the town of Rottenburg am Neckar in what is now the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Here, a certain Johannes Dornsife is mentioned as a local landholder and farmer. The spelling "Dornsife" persisted in this region for several centuries, with variations such as "Dornseiff" and "Dornseiffen" also appearing in historical documents.
By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, including the regions of Saxony and Thuringia. In 1578, a Hans Dornsife is recorded as a master blacksmith in the city of Leipzig, indicating that the name was no longer exclusively associated with rural occupations.
As the DORNSIFE surname proliferated, it also found its way into other European countries through migration and trade. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in the Netherlands, where the name was often rendered as "Dornsiffen" or "Dornsijffen". One notable figure from this era was Pieter Dornsiffen (1622-1692), a successful merchant and alderman in the city of Amsterdam.
The earliest known instances of the DORNSIFE name in the English-speaking world date back to the late 18th century, when German immigrants began arriving in North America in significant numbers. One of the first recorded examples is Jacob Dornsife (1762-1842), who was born in the German Palatinate region and later settled in Pennsylvania after serving in the American Revolutionary War.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann Georg Dornsife (1774-1851), a Hessian soldier who fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War but later defected to the American side. He went on to become a successful farmer and landowner in Virginia after the war.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the DORNSIFE name continued to be represented in various fields, such as Christian Dornsife (1820-1903), a German-American brewer and businessman in Pennsylvania, and John Dornsife (1871-1945), a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dornsife
Among Census respondents with the surname Dornsife, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dornsife 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 Dornsife surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 103
- Two or more races5.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dornsife
Dornsife 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,166 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,867 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 20,166 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,867 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 Dornsife 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 | #151,532 | #148,665 | 1.9% |
| Count | 108 | 111 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dornsife bearers went from 108 to 111 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,867 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #148,665.
FAQ
Dornsife surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dornsife?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Dornsife. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Dornsife?
Dornsife ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Dornsife. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dornsife.
Has Dornsife become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dornsife went from 108 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Dornsife?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dornsife, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Dornsife in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dornsife appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (5.4%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Dornsife (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 Dornsife mean?
Of German origin, referring to someone from a village named Dornsife. 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 Dornsife (0.04 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 surname Dornsife?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.