2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dovers
A locational surname originating from Dover or other place with that name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Dovers. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dovers 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Dovers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dovers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dovers
The surname Dovers is thought to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from the place name "Dover" in Kent, which means "water" or "stream" in Old English.
The name first appeared in records in the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Walter de Dovre, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195. Another early example is Roger de Dovre, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272.
The variant spelling "Doverus" was used in some medieval Latin documents, and the name was sometimes anglicized to "Dover" or "Doveris" in later centuries. There are also records of the name being spelled "Douers" or "Dowres" in some regions.
Renowned individuals with the Dovers surname include Sir John Dovers, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War (c.1320-1400). Another notable figure was William Dovers, a 16th-century merchant and alderman of the City of London (c.1520-1585).
In the 17th century, there was Sir Edward Dovers, a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament who served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1655 to 1660 (1598-1677). In the 18th century, Thomas Dovers was a renowned English architect known for his work on several churches and public buildings (1715-1789).
One of the most famous bearers of the Dovers name was the 19th-century novelist and poet, Emily Dovers (1818-1848), whose works include the classic novels "Wuthering Heights" and "Agnes Grey".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dovers
Among Census respondents with the surname Dovers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dovers 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 Dovers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 103
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dovers
Dovers 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-8 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,228 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+8 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,090 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 18,228 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.7%) | Up 8,090 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 Dovers 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 | #156,044 | #147,954 | 5.2% |
| Count | 104 | 112 | 7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dovers bearers went from 104 to 112 (+7.7% change). The surname moved up 8,090 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #147,954.
FAQ
Dovers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dovers?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Dovers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Dovers?
Dovers ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Dovers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Dovers.
Has Dovers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dovers went from 104 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 8 (+7.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Dovers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dovers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (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 Dovers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dovers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Black (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 Dovers (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 Dovers mean?
A locational surname originating from Dover or other place with that name. 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 Dovers (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 common is the surname Dovers?
You can see how many people have the surname Dovers on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.