2000
#14,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,822
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Dublin
An Irish toponymic surname referring to someone from the city or county of Dublin in Ireland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,269 Americans carry the last name Dublin. That puts it at #14,497 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,060 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dublin 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 Dublin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 151,060
Census rank
#14,497
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,979 bearers of the surname Dublin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14497th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dublin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.3%. The next largest groups are White (36.0%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dublin
The surname Dublin originated in Ireland, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Irish Gaelic words "dubh" meaning black and "linn" meaning pool or harbor, referring to the dark waters of the River Liffey on which the city of Dublin is situated. The name was initially used as a locational surname for those who hailed from the city or surrounding areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Gilla Dublinen" in 1162. This individual is believed to be a member of the Dublin family from the area.
The surname Dublin can also be traced to the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named "William de Duuelinge" in Cambridgeshire, which is likely an anglicized version of the Irish surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Dublin include Sir William Dublin (1531-1596), an English politician and member of parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was James Dublin (1720-1789), an Irish-born merchant and landowner who settled in colonial Virginia and played a role in the American Revolutionary War.
In the literary world, John Dublin (1792-1862) was an Irish poet and author known for his works celebrating Irish culture and nationalism. His contemporaries included the playwright and novelist Samuel Dublin (1809-1858), whose works explored themes of social injustice and Irish identity.
More recently, Mary Dublin (1901-1987) was an Irish-American labor organizer and activist who fought for workers' rights and played a significant role in the union movement during the mid-20th century.
The surname Dublin has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Ireland, where towns and villages like Dublinstown and Dublinsbeg were named after early settlers or landowners with the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dublin
Among Census respondents with the surname Dublin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.3%. The next largest groups are White (36.0%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Dublin 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 Dublin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.3% · 996
- White36.0% · 713
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 102
- Two or more races4.3% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dublin
Dublin 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
#14,768
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,011
+189 bearers (+10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Up 130 places
2020
#14,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,979
-32 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 271 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,898 | 1,822 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,768 | 2,011 | 0.68 | +189 bearers (+10.4%) | Up 130 places |
| 2020 | #14,497 | 1,979 | 0.66 | -32 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 271 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 Dublin 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 | #14,768 | #14,497 | 1.8% |
| Count | 2,011 | 1,979 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.66 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dublin bearers went from 2,011 to 1,979 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 271 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,768 to #14,497.
FAQ
Dublin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dublin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,269 living Americans carry the surname Dublin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,060 residents.
How common is Dublin?
Dublin ranks #14,497 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,979 people with the surname Dublin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,269), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Dublin.
Has Dublin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dublin went from 2,011 recorded bearers to 1,979. That is a decrease of 32 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,768 to #14,497.
What does the Census say about the background of Dublin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dublin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.3%. The next largest groups are White (36.0%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Dublin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.3% (996 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dublin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (50.3%), White (36.0%), Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Dublin (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 Dublin mean?
An Irish toponymic surname referring to someone from the city or county of Dublin in Ireland. 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 Dublin (0.66 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 share the surname Dublin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.