2000
#5,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,799
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.15
Rare Last name
Dorr
Derived from the Middle English and Old French word "dorre," meaning a doorkeeper or gatekeeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,357 Americans carry the last name Dorr. That puts it at #5,975 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,918 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dorr 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 Dorr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.4K
1 in 53,918
Census rank
#5,975
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,544 bearers of the surname Dorr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5975th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dorr
The surname Dorr is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "dörr," meaning "dry" or "barren." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who lived in an arid or infertile area or worked with dried goods.
The earliest known record of the name Dorr can be found in the 13th century in Bavaria, Germany. The name was also found in various forms, such as Dörr, Dörre, and Dörrer, in other parts of Germany and Switzerland during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Dorr was Johannes Dörr, a merchant and landowner who lived in Nuremberg, Germany, in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Peter Dorr, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Saxony, who lived from 1521 to 1594.
In the 16th century, the name Dorr appeared in the records of the town of Weinsberg, in what is now Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The town's coat of arms featured a dorr (dried branch), which may have influenced the local use of the surname.
The name Dorr also has a long history in England, where it was likely introduced by German immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known English bearers of the name was Thomas Dorr, born in Somerset in 1613.
Another significant figure was Thomas Wilson Dorr, an American political reformer and leader of the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, which sought to establish a more democratic state constitution. He lived from 1805 to 1854.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dorr include Heinrich Dörr (1839-1911), a German composer and music teacher, and Frederic Dorr Steele (1873-1944), an American writer and illustrator known for his novels set in the American West.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorr
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dorr 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 Dorr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 4,972
- Two or more races4.1% · 227
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 147
- Black or African American1.8% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dorr
Dorr 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
#5,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,814
+15 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 421 places
2020
#5,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,544
-270 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.85
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,507 | 5,799 | 2.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,928 | 5,814 | 1.97 | +15 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 421 places |
| 2020 | #5,975 | 5,544 | 1.85 | -270 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 47 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 Dorr 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 | #5,928 | #5,975 | -0.8% |
| Count | 5,814 | 5,544 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.97 | 1.85 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dorr bearers went from 5,814 to 5,544 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,928 to #5,975.
FAQ
Dorr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dorr?
Name Census estimates that about 6,357 living Americans carry the surname Dorr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,918 residents.
How common is Dorr?
Dorr ranks #5,975 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,544 people with the surname Dorr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Dorr.
Has Dorr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dorr went from 5,814 recorded bearers to 5,544. That is a decrease of 270 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,928 to #5,975.
What does the Census say about the background of Dorr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Dorr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (4,972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dorr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Dorr (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 Dorr mean?
Derived from the Middle English and Old French word "dorre," meaning a doorkeeper or gatekeeper. 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 Dorr (1.85 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 Dorr?
You can see how many people have the surname Dorr on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.