2000
#78,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 226
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Dude
A mocking, disrespectful surname derived from the antiquated insult "duddyman".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 850 Americans carry the last name Dude. That puts it at #33,142 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 403,240 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dude 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
850
1 in 403,240
Census rank
#33,142
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
741
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 741 bearers of the surname Dude in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33142nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dude, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Hispanic (8.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dude
The surname "DUDE" is believed to have originated in England, possibly deriving from the Old English word "dude," which meant a type of cloak or garment worn by peasants. It may have been used as a nickname for someone who wore such a cloak or as an occupational name for a maker of these garments.
One of the earliest known references to the surname comes from the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded a landowner named Dudd in the county of Suffolk. This spelling variation likely represented the same name and suggests the surname was already in use by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various records with spellings like "Dudde" and "Dude." For instance, a Robert Dude is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. The surname may also be connected to the place name Duddon, a river and valley in Cumbria, indicating some bearers of the name could have originated from that region.
Notable individuals with the surname include Sir William Dude (c.1350-1412), a knight and landowner in Kent who fought in the Hundred Years' War. Another example is John Dude (1570-1645), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London during the reign of King James I.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records across England, such as the baptism of Elizabeth Dude in Cambridgeshire in 1634. During this period, the spelling variations included "Dude," "Dewd," and "Doude."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is Robert Dude, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and was granted land in the colony. Another early bearer was Thomas Dude, who settled in New England in the late 1600s.
Other notable individuals with the surname throughout history include the British naval officer Captain John Dude (1700-1780), who served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War, and the American politician Benjamin Dude (1785-1865), who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the 1830s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dude
Among Census respondents with the surname Dude, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Hispanic (8.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dude 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 Dude surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.0% · 467
- Black or African American11.7% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.9% · 66
- Two or more races3.8% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dude
Dude 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
#88,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 209
-17 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 10,136 places
2020
#33,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 741
+532 bearers (+254.5%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 55,543 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #78,549 | 226 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #88,685 | 209 | 0.07 | -17 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 10,136 places |
| 2020 | #33,142 | 741 | 0.25 | +532 bearers (+254.5%) | Up 55,543 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 Dude 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 | #88,685 | #33,142 | 62.6% |
| Count | 209 | 741 | 254.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.25 | 254.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dude bearers went from 209 to 741 (+254.5% change). The surname moved up 55,543 positions in the national ranking, going from #88,685 to #33,142.
FAQ
Dude surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dude?
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the surname Dude. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 403,240 residents.
How common is Dude?
Dude ranks #33,142 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 741 people with the surname Dude. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (850), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dude.
Has Dude become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dude went from 209 recorded bearers to 741. That is an increase of 532 (+254.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #88,685 to #33,142.
What does the Census say about the background of Dude?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dude, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Dude in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.0% (467 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dude appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.0%), Black (11.7%), Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Dude (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 Dude mean?
A mocking, disrespectful surname derived from the antiquated insult "duddyman". 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 Dude (0.25 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 Americans have the surname Dude?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.