2000
#5,687
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,594
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.07
Rare Last name
Downes
Derived from the Old English "dun," referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or downs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,460 Americans carry the last name Downes. That puts it at #5,896 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Downes 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 Downes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 53,058
Census rank
#5,896
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,633 bearers of the surname Downes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5896th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Downes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Downes
The surname Downes has its origins in England, emerging during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "dun" and "dune," meaning "hill" or "down," referring to individuals who resided near or on a hill. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "de Duna."
The name was initially concentrated in the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Hampshire, where many early bearers of the surname were landowners or farmers living in areas with hilly or undulating terrain. Over time, the spelling evolved to include variations such as Doun, Doune, and Downe, before settling on the modern form of Downes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1198, which mentions a Richard de Duna. In the 13th century, a John de Doun is documented in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272, indicating the name's spread across various regions of England.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Downes include Sir John Downes (1572-1631), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament for Arundel during the reign of King James I. In the realm of literature, Andrew Downes (1550-1628) was a noted English poet and translator, best known for his translation of the works of the Roman poet Ovid.
In the 18th century, John Downes (1677-1712) was a prominent English dramatist and author, known for his work "Roscius Anglicanus," a historical account of English actors and actresses of his time. Another notable figure was Thomas Downes (1781-1853), an English naturalist and botanist who contributed significantly to the study of plant life in the West Indies.
During the 19th century, John Downes (1820-1883) was a distinguished English architect and surveyor, responsible for the design of several notable buildings in London and the surrounding areas. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname Downes, highlighting its longstanding presence and significance within English society across various fields and professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Downes
Among Census respondents with the surname Downes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Downes 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 Downes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 4,458
- Black or African American12.7% · 714
- Two or more races3.9% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 175
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Downes
Downes 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
#5,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,956
+362 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 119 places
2020
#5,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,633
-323 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,687 | 5,594 | 2.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,806 | 5,956 | 2.02 | +362 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 119 places |
| 2020 | #5,896 | 5,633 | 1.88 | -323 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 90 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 Downes 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 | #5,806 | #5,896 | -1.6% |
| Count | 5,956 | 5,633 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.02 | 1.88 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Downes bearers went from 5,956 to 5,633 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,806 to #5,896.
FAQ
Downes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Downes?
Name Census estimates that about 6,460 living Americans carry the surname Downes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,058 residents.
How common is Downes?
Downes ranks #5,896 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.88 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 5,633 people with the surname Downes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,460), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.88 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 Downes.
Has Downes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Downes went from 5,956 recorded bearers to 5,633. That is a decrease of 323 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,806 to #5,896.
What does the Census say about the background of Downes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Downes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Downes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (4,458 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Downes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (12.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Downes (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 Downes mean?
Derived from the Old English "dun," referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or downs. 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 Downes (1.88 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 surname Downes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.