2000
#2,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,207
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.64
Uncommon Last name
Dozier
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold dossiers, wallets, or satchels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,775 Americans carry the last name Dozier. That puts it at #2,291 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,283 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dozier 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
18K
1 in 19,283
Census rank
#2,291
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,501 bearers of the surname Dozier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2291st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dozier, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.1%. The next largest groups are White (43.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dozier
The surname Dozier has its origins in France, where it emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "doser," which means "to divide or distribute." The name likely referred to someone whose occupation involved the distribution or apportionment of goods or resources.
Dozier is believed to have first appeared in records during the 12th century, with early variations of the spelling including Dossier, Dosier, and Douzier. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Redon, a medieval French manuscript dating back to the 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name Dozier was associated with the village of Dozier-sur-Dordogne in the Périgord region of southwestern France. This village likely took its name from a local landowner or nobleman bearing the surname Dozier.
During the Middle Ages, several notable individuals carried the surname Dozier. Among them was Jean Dozier, a renowned French jurist and legal scholar who lived in the 14th century. Another notable figure was Étienne Dozier, a French soldier and diplomat who served under King Charles VI in the late 14th century.
As the centuries passed, the Dozier name spread beyond France to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In England, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Dosser and Dossor, and can be traced back to the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dozier name in America dates back to the late 17th century, when Antoine Dozier, a French Huguenot, settled in South Carolina after fleeing religious persecution in France.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Dozier. These include:
1. Henry Dozier, an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana in the early 19th century.
2. James Dozier, an American general who was kidnapped by the Red Brigades terrorist group in Italy in 1981 and held captive for 42 days before being rescued.
3. Melville Dozier, an American football player and coach who played for the University of Michigan in the early 20th century.
4. Robert Dozier, an American basketball player who played in the NBA and various international leagues in the 2000s and 2010s.
5. Wilma Dozier, an American civil rights activist and one of the founding members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the 1940s.
While the surname Dozier has its roots in medieval France, it has since become a part of the cultural and historical fabric of various nations, reflecting the migration and dispersal of families over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dozier
Among Census respondents with the surname Dozier, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.1%. The next largest groups are White (43.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dozier 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 Dozier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.1% · 7,152
- White43.8% · 6,786
- Two or more races5.7% · 877
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 526
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 71
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dozier
Dozier 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
#2,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,091
+884 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 5.45
Rank movement Down 64 places
2020
#2,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,501
-590 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.19
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,195 | 15,207 | 5.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,259 | 16,091 | 5.45 | +884 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 64 places |
| 2020 | #2,291 | 15,501 | 5.19 | -590 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 32 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 Dozier 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 | #2,259 | #2,291 | -1.4% |
| Count | 16,091 | 15,501 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.45 | 5.19 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dozier bearers went from 16,091 to 15,501 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,259 to #2,291.
FAQ
Dozier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dozier?
Name Census estimates that about 17,775 living Americans carry the surname Dozier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,283 residents.
How common is Dozier?
Dozier ranks #2,291 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,501 people with the surname Dozier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,775), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Dozier.
Has Dozier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dozier went from 16,091 recorded bearers to 15,501. That is a decrease of 590 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,259 to #2,291.
What does the Census say about the background of Dozier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dozier, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.1%. The next largest groups are White (43.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dozier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.1% (7,152 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dozier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.1%), White (43.8%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Dozier (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 Dozier mean?
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold dossiers, wallets, or satchels. 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 Dozier (5.19 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 have the last name Dozier?
Want to know how many people have the last name Dozier? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.