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

Dorough, 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 Dorough surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dorough in America

Dorough is the 21382nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dorough surname appeared 1,224 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dorough.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dorough 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.

The history of the last name Dorough

The surname Dorough is believed to have originated in England, likely during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant spelling or dialectal form of the Old English surname Duerhugo, which was derived from the Old English words "dure" meaning "door" and "hugo" meaning "heart" or "courage." This combination suggests the name may have been given to a brave doorkeeper or gatekeeper.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dorough can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, where a Thomas Dorewarthe is mentioned. This spelling variation provides insight into the name's evolution over time.

In the 15th century, the surname appears in various historical records from different regions of England. For example, a John Dorowgh is documented in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1459.

The Dorough name has also been associated with certain place names in England, such as the village of Dorough in Somerset, which may have influenced the surname's development.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Dorough include:

1. Richard Dorough (1587-1659), an English clergyman and author from Gloucestershire.

2. Thomas Dorough (1633-1701), a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a prominent landowner in colonial Virginia.

3. Elizabeth Dorough (1742-1815), a British writer and poet from Worcestershire.

4. William Dorough (1786-1862), an English mathematician and educator who taught at the University of Cambridge.

5. James Dorough (1819-1892), an American Civil War veteran and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.

While these are just a few examples, the Dorough surname has a long and rich history dating back to medieval England, with various spellings and associations throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dorough

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

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 Dorough was:

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

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

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

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