2000
#64,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 286
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Dugard
A French surname meaning someone from a town called Dugard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 311 Americans carry the last name Dugard. That puts it at #76,478 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,102,104 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dugard 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 Dugard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
311
1 in 1,102,104
Census rank
#76,478
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
271
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 271 bearers of the surname Dugard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 76478th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugard, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (8.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dugard
The surname DUGARD originated in the early medieval period in Normandy, France. It derives from the Old French words "du" meaning "of the" and "gard" meaning "protection" or "guard." Thus, the name likely referred to someone who served as a guard, protector or watchman.
One of the earliest records of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Radulfus Dugard is listed as holding estates in Suffolk, England. This suggests that the name had spread from Normandy to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066.
By the 12th century, the name had also taken root in other parts of France, with variations like Dugardt and Duguard appearing in historical records from regions like Brittany and Poitou. Some Dugards likely accompanied the Normans on expeditions to Southern Italy and Sicily, helping establish the name there too.
A notable early bearer of the name was Jean Dugard (c.1295-1368), a French knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against England. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and was later made governor of the town of Arques.
In England, one of the first prominent Dugards was Sir William Dugard (c.1510-1581), who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1573. His descendant, Samuel Dugard (1645-1697), became a renowned printer and publisher of theological works.
Another line of the family produced the English writer and poet Thomas Dugard (1608-1683), who wrote on religious and historical topics. One of his descendants, Henry Dugard (1710-1763), gained fame as a celebrated actor on the London stage in the mid-1700s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dugard
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugard, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (8.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Dugard 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 Dugard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.6% · 205
- Black or African American11.8% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 24
- Two or more races2.6% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dugard
Dugard 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
#65,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 302
+16 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 659 places
2020
#76,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 271
-31 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 10,885 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #64,934 | 286 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #65,593 | 302 | 0.10 | +16 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 659 places |
| 2020 | #76,478 | 271 | 0.09 | -31 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 10,885 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 Dugard 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 | #65,593 | #76,478 | -16.6% |
| Count | 302 | 271 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.09 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dugard bearers went from 302 to 271 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 10,885 positions in the national ranking, going from #65,593 to #76,478.
FAQ
Dugard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dugard?
Name Census estimates that about 311 living Americans carry the surname Dugard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,102,104 residents.
How common is Dugard?
Dugard ranks #76,478 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 271 people with the surname Dugard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (311), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Dugard.
Has Dugard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dugard went from 302 recorded bearers to 271. That is a decrease of 31 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #65,593 to #76,478.
What does the Census say about the background of Dugard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugard, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) 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 Dugard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (205 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dugard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.6%), Black (11.8%), 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 Dugard (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 Dugard mean?
A French surname meaning someone from a town called Dugard. 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 Dugard (0.09 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 common is the surname Dugard?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Dugard at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.