2000
#8,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,606
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.34
Rare Last name
Dowden
Derived from the Gaelic "Ó Dubhdáin," meaning "descendant of Dubhdán," a personal name meaning "little dark one" or "black-haired one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,094 Americans carry the last name Dowden. That puts it at #8,814 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,721 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dowden 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 Dowden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,721
Census rank
#8,814
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,570 bearers of the surname Dowden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8814th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowden, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dowden
The surname Dowden is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "dun" meaning hill, and "denu" meaning valley. It is a locational name, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name lived near a hill or valley.
The name first appeared in records during the 12th century, with one of the earliest known references being found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, dated 1190, where a person named Richard de Dunden was mentioned.
Another early record of the name can be found in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1279, which mentions a Roger de Dowdene.
Dowden is also an old place name, referring to areas in counties such as Derbyshire and Shropshire. The Dowden family held lands in these regions during the Middle Ages.
John Dowden (c. 1640-1711) was an English clergyman and author, known for his work "A Concordance to the Works of Ben Jonson."
Edward Dowden (1843-1913) was an Irish poet, literary critic, and professor of English literature at Trinity College, Dublin.
Samuel Dowden (1820-1881) was an Irish clergyman and author, known for his work on the history of the Church of Ireland.
John Dowden (1782-1857) was an English Anglican bishop, who served as the Bishop of Edinburgh from 1845 to 1857.
Ephraim Dowden (1734-1828) was an English Particular Baptist minister and author, who served as the pastor of the Baptist church in Shrewsbury for over 50 years.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dowden
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowden, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dowden 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 Dowden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 2,888
- Black or African American9.7% · 346
- Two or more races4.4% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dowden
Dowden 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
#8,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,829
+223 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 179 places
2020
#8,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,570
-259 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 216 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,419 | 3,606 | 1.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,598 | 3,829 | 1.30 | +223 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 179 places |
| 2020 | #8,814 | 3,570 | 1.19 | -259 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 216 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 Dowden 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 | #8,598 | #8,814 | -2.5% |
| Count | 3,829 | 3,570 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.30 | 1.19 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dowden bearers went from 3,829 to 3,570 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 216 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,598 to #8,814.
FAQ
Dowden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dowden?
Name Census estimates that about 4,094 living Americans carry the surname Dowden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,721 residents.
How common is Dowden?
Dowden ranks #8,814 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,570 people with the surname Dowden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,094), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dowden.
Has Dowden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dowden went from 3,829 recorded bearers to 3,570. That is a decrease of 259 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,598 to #8,814.
What does the Census say about the background of Dowden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowden, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dowden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (2,888 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dowden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (9.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dowden (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 Dowden mean?
Derived from the Gaelic "Ó Dubhdáin," meaning "descendant of Dubhdán," a personal name meaning "little dark one" or "black-haired one." 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 Dowden (1.19 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 Dowden?
Want to know how many people have the last name Dowden? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.