Doten last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Doten

A toponymic surname denoting someone from a locality bearing the same name.

Doten, 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 Doten surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Doten in America

Doten is the 23866th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Doten surname appeared 1,058 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 Doten.

We can also compare 2010 data for Doten 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 23866 17221 32.35%
Count 1,058 1,515 -35.52%
Proportion per 100k 0.36 0.56 -43.48%

The history of the last name Doten

The surname Doten originates from England and dates back to the early medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "doten," meaning "foolish" or "dull-witted." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone perceived as mentally slow or simple-minded.

The earliest recorded instances of the Doten surname can be found in various historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273, where it appears as "Doten." Other early spellings include "Doting" and "Dotyn," reflecting the phonetic variations common in medieval English.

One of the earliest documented individuals bearing the Doten surname was John Doten, who lived in Lincolnshire, England, in the late 13th century. Another notable early bearer was William Doten, a landowner in Cambridgeshire mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Bright Walton in 1324.

In the 16th century, the Doten surname appeared in various parish records and tax rolls across different parts of England, including Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk. One notable individual from this period was Edward Doten, born in 1586 in Leyden, Holland, to English separatist parents who had fled religious persecution. Edward Doten later accompanied the Pilgrim settlers on the Mayflower voyage to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Another prominent figure in the history of the Doten surname was John Doten, born in 1598 in Lincolnshire, England. He was a Puritan who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s and became a respected member of the community in Plymouth Colony. Several of his descendants were involved in the American Revolutionary War.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Doten surname was also found in various parts of New England, particularly in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where many descendants of the early Puritan settlers lived. Notable individuals from this period include Samuel Doten (1652-1715), a farmer and town officer in Plymouth Colony, and Ebenezer Doten (1703-1787), a soldier in the French and Indian War.

One of the more famous bearers of the Doten name was Cyrus Doten, born in 1809 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a successful businessman and philanthropist who founded the Doten Free Desk Company, a manufacturer of school furniture. Cyrus Doten also donated generously to educational and religious institutions in his community.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Doten

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

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 Doten was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 85.82% 908
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.80% 19
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.23% 13
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.66% 7
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.65% 28
Hispanic Origin 7.84% 83

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 85.82% 88.65% -3.24%
Black 1.80% 3.83% -72.11%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.23% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.66% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.65% 1.58% 50.59%
Hispanic 7.84% 5.35% 37.76%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Doten last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/doten-surname-popularity/.

"Doten last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/doten-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Doten last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/doten-surname-popularity/.

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