2000
#20,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,192
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Dorough
A variant of the French surname Derough, derived from the Old French rouge meaning "red" or "ruddy".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,385 Americans carry the last name Dorough. That puts it at #21,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 247,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dorough 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
1.4K
1 in 247,476
Census rank
#21,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,208 bearers of the surname Dorough in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 21950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorough, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorough
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorough, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dorough 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 Dorough surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 1,052
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 62
- Two or more races4.1% · 50
- Black or African American2.2% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dorough
Dorough 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
#21,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,224
+32 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Down 740 places
2020
#21,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,208
-16 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 568 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,642 | 1,192 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,382 | 1,224 | 0.41 | +32 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 740 places |
| 2020 | #21,950 | 1,208 | 0.40 | -16 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 568 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 Dorough 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 | #21,382 | #21,950 | -2.7% |
| Count | 1,224 | 1,208 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.40 | -1.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dorough bearers went from 1,224 to 1,208 (-1.3% change). The surname moved down 568 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,382 to #21,950.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dorough
FAQ
Dorough surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dorough?
Name Census estimates that about 1,385 living Americans carry the surname Dorough. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 247,476 residents.
How common is Dorough?
Dorough ranks #21,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,208 people with the surname Dorough. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,385), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Dorough.
Has Dorough become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dorough went from 1,224 recorded bearers to 1,208. That is a decrease of 16 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,382 to #21,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Dorough?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorough, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Dorough in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (1,052 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dorough appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Dorough (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 Dorough mean?
A variant of the French surname Derough, derived from the Old French rouge meaning "red" or "ruddy". 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 Dorough (0.40 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 Americans have the surname Dorough?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.