2000
#14,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,820
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Downard
A locational surname referring to someone from a downward direction or area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,082 Americans carry the last name Downard. That puts it at #15,519 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,627 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Downard 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 Downard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 164,627
Census rank
#15,519
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,816 bearers of the surname Downard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15519th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Downard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Downard
The surname Downard is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be a variant of the more common surname Downer, which itself is derived from the Old English word "dun" meaning hill or down. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived on or near a hill or down.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Downard surname can be found in the Feet of Fines for Lancashire in 1351, which mentions a John Dounard. This document provides evidence that the name was present in northern England by the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Downard spelling appears in parish records from the county of Norfolk. A baptismal record from 1583 in the parish of Aylsham notes the christening of Joane Downard, daughter of Thomas Downard. This suggests the name had spread to eastern England by this time.
The Downard name is also found in early colonial records from the 17th century. Edward Downard, born in 1623 in England, was among the early settlers of Virginia, arriving in the colony in 1638. He later acquired land in what is now Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Another notable bearer of the Downard name was John Downard, a 17th century English clergyman and author. He was born in 1644 in Cheshire and became the rector of Swinstead in Lincolnshire. His published works include a book on the doctrine of the Trinity titled "A Modest Defence of the Outworks" from 1687.
In the 18th century, the Downard surname can be found in Ireland, likely carried there by English settlers. One example is William Downard, born around 1740 in County Antrim. He later emigrated to America, settling in Pennsylvania in the 1760s.
Other historical figures with the Downard surname include Thomas Downard, a 19th century English landscape painter born in 1792, and John Downard, an English cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire in the mid-1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Downard
Among Census respondents with the surname Downard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Downard 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 Downard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 1,639
- Two or more races4.5% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 51
- Black or African American1.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Downard
Downard 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
#15,571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,878
+58 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 651 places
2020
#15,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,816
-62 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 52 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,920 | 1,820 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,571 | 1,878 | 0.64 | +58 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 651 places |
| 2020 | #15,519 | 1,816 | 0.61 | -62 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 52 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 Downard 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 | #15,571 | #15,519 | 0.3% |
| Count | 1,878 | 1,816 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.61 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Downard bearers went from 1,878 to 1,816 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 52 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,571 to #15,519.
FAQ
Downard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Downard?
Name Census estimates that about 2,082 living Americans carry the surname Downard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,627 residents.
How common is Downard?
Downard ranks #15,519 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,816 people with the surname Downard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,082), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Downard.
Has Downard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Downard went from 1,878 recorded bearers to 1,816. That is a decrease of 62 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,571 to #15,519.
What does the Census say about the background of Downard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Downard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Downard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (1,639 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Downard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Downard (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 Downard mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a downward direction or area. 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 Downard (0.61 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 Downard?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Downard? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.