2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dulian
A surname likely derived from a location or place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Dulian. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dulian 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Dulian in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dulian, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dulian
The surname Dulian has its origins in the medieval region of Brittany, France, and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Breton word "dul," meaning "leader" or "chief," combined with the suffix "-ian," indicating a person associated with or belonging to a certain group or place.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dulian can be found in the Cartulaire de Redon, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the Redon Abbey in Brittany. In this source, dated around 1180, a man named Herveus Dulian is mentioned as a landholder in the region.
During the 13th century, the name Dulian appeared in several other historical records from Brittany, such as the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Jacut, which mentions a certain Robertus Dulian who owned land near the town of Saint-Jacut-les-Pins.
In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Dulian was Alain Dulian, a knight from the Duchy of Brittany who fought alongside the French forces during the Hundred Years' War against the English. He was born around 1320 and died in battle in 1356 during the Battle of Poitiers.
Another prominent individual with the surname Dulian was Jehan Dulian, a Breton merchant and shipowner who lived in the 15th century. He was known for his successful trading ventures across the English Channel, and his name appears in several maritime records from the port cities of Brittany.
As the centuries passed, the Dulian surname spread beyond the borders of Brittany and can be found in various other regions of France, as well as in other parts of Europe where Bretons migrated or settled. Notable examples include Pierre Dulian, a French philosopher born in 1623 in Normandy, and Gustave Dulian, a 19th-century Belgian painter who was born in Liège in 1833 and died in Brussels in 1890.
The surname Dulian has also been associated with several place names and locations in Brittany, such as the village of Dulian-sur-Rance, which likely derived its name from the presence of families bearing this surname in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dulian
Among Census respondents with the surname Dulian, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dulian 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 Dulian surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dulian
Dulian 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-10 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,253 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,931 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 18,253 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 1,931 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 Dulian 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 | #146,201 | #144,270 | 1.3% |
| Count | 113 | 117 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dulian bearers went from 113 to 117 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 1,931 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #144,270.
FAQ
Dulian surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dulian?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Dulian. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Dulian?
Dulian ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Dulian. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Dulian.
Has Dulian become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dulian went from 113 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 4 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Dulian?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dulian, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dulian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dulian appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Dulian (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 Dulian mean?
A surname likely derived from a location or place name. 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 Dulian (0.04 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 are called Dulian?
See how many people are called Dulian on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.