2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dunas
An occupational surname derived from the Latin "duna," referring to someone living near dunes or sand hills.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Dunas. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dunas 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Dunas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunas, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (44.2%) and Black (8.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dunas
The surname DUNAS is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word 'duna', which means 'dune' or 'sand hill'. This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or worked on sand dunes.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century. In the year 1265, a man named Pedro de las Dunas was documented in the records of the city of Seville. This spelling, "de las Dunas", indicates that the name was initially a descriptive phrase referring to a person's proximity to sand dunes.
Another early mention of the name can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century Castilian manuscript that documented landholdings and feudal rights. This text includes references to individuals with the surname DUNAS, such as Juan Dunas and Gonzalo Dunas.
One notable individual with this surname was Alonso Dunas, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Dunas was part of the crew that established the settlement of La Isabela on the island of Hispaniola.
In the 16th century, the DUNAS surname appeared in various regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. For example, a man named Francisco Dunas was born in Seville in 1542, while another individual, Juan Dunas, was recorded in the town of Zaragoza in 1578.
During the 17th century, the surname DUNAS began to spread to other parts of the Spanish-speaking world through emigration and colonization. One example is Pedro Dunas, who was born in Mexico City in 1634 and served as a military officer in the Spanish colonies.
As the name DUNAS travelled across different regions, its spelling and pronunciation may have evolved slightly. Variations such as Dunes, Dunás, and Dunez can be found in historical records, reflecting local linguistic influences.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname DUNAS. These include José Dunas (1823-1901), a Spanish painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes, and Manuel Dunas (1890-1968), a Mexican writer and poet who was part of the influential Contemporáneos literary group.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dunas
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunas, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (44.2%) and Black (8.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dunas 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 Dunas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.2% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino44.2% · 46
- Black or African American8.7% · 9
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dunas
Dunas 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-13 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,447 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-6 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,195 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 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 21,447 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 4,195 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 Dunas 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 | #149,395 | #153,590 | -2.8% |
| Count | 110 | 104 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dunas bearers went from 110 to 104 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 4,195 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #153,590.
FAQ
Dunas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dunas?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Dunas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Dunas?
Dunas ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Dunas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Dunas.
Has Dunas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dunas went from 110 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Dunas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunas, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (44.2%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Dunas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.2% (47 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dunas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (45.2%), Hispanic (44.2%), Black (8.7%). 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 Dunas (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 Dunas mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Latin "duna," referring to someone living near dunes or sand hills. 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 Dunas (0.03 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 Dunas?
Want to know how many people are called Dunas? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.