2000
#7,031
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,393
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.63
Rare Last name
Downer
An Old English occupational surname for a person who lived on or near a down or hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,823 Americans carry the last name Downer. That puts it at #6,438 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,862 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Downer 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 Downer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 58,862
Census rank
#6,438
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,078 bearers of the surname Downer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6438th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Downer, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Downer
The surname Downer has its origins in England, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "dun," meaning a hill or a down, referring to someone who lived near or on a hillside.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Walter le Downer, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. The use of the prefix "le" before the surname suggests that it was originally a descriptive name or a reference to a place.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, such as Downer, Dounere, and Downere, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional dialects.
The name Downer was also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it was recorded as "Willelmus le Dounere." This suggests that the name was well-established in the region by this time.
One notable bearer of the surname was John Downer, a prominent merchant and landowner in Oxfordshire during the 16th century. He is mentioned in several historical records, including the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524.
In the 17th century, the Downer family had a presence in Norfolk, with William Downer (1589-1662) serving as a clergyman and author. His son, John Downer (1615-1672), was a renowned physician and author of medical texts.
Another notable figure was Samuel Downer (1670-1748), a successful merchant and ship owner from Boston, Massachusetts. He played a crucial role in the early development of the city's maritime trade.
The Downer surname can also be traced back to the village of Downer in Somerset, which likely contributed to the name's origin and early use. This connection is evidenced by records from the 16th and 17th centuries mentioning individuals from Downer or with the surname Downer of Downer.
Throughout history, the Downer surname has been associated with various occupations and social statuses, ranging from landowners and merchants to clergymen and authors, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Downer
Among Census respondents with the surname Downer, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Downer 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 Downer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 3,188
- Black or African American28.1% · 1,428
- Two or more races4.5% · 229
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 176
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Downer
Downer 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
#6,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,277
+884 bearers (+20.1%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Up 595 places
2020
#6,438
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,078
-199 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,031 | 4,393 | 1.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,436 | 5,277 | 1.79 | +884 bearers (+20.1%) | Up 595 places |
| 2020 | #6,438 | 5,078 | 1.70 | -199 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 2 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 Downer 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 | #6,436 | #6,438 | -0.0% |
| Count | 5,277 | 5,078 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.70 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Downer bearers went from 5,277 to 5,078 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,436 to #6,438.
FAQ
Downer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Downer?
Name Census estimates that about 5,823 living Americans carry the surname Downer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,862 residents.
How common is Downer?
Downer ranks #6,438 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.70 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 5,078 people with the surname Downer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,823), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.70 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 Downer.
Has Downer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Downer went from 5,277 recorded bearers to 5,078. That is a decrease of 199 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,436 to #6,438.
What does the Census say about the background of Downer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Downer, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Downer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (3,188 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Downer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.8%), Black (28.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Downer (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 Downer mean?
An Old English occupational surname for a person who lived on or near a down or hill. 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 Downer (1.70 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 have the last name Downer?
See how common the surname Downer is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.