Find out how popular the last name Dunne is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dunne.

Dunne, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dunne surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dunne in America

Dunne is the 3974th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dunne surname appeared 8,941 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Dunne.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dunne to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dunne

The surname Dunne is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic word "donn" meaning "brown-haired" or "brown". It was initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with brown hair or a swarthy complexion.

The name is believed to have originated in County Kilkenny, Ireland, where it can be traced back to the 12th century. The Dunnes were part of the Gaelic nobility and held lands in the baronies of Galmoy and Shillelogher.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. It mentions a chieftain named Donnchadh Donn, who ruled a territory in Westmeath in the 12th century.

In the 13th century, the Dunnes were among the Irish families who were dispossessed of their lands during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Some adapted their name to the Anglo-Norman spelling of "Dun" or "Dunn", while others retained the Gaelic form "Dunne".

Notable historical figures with the surname Dunne include Sir John Dunne (1470-1528), a soldier and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland during the reign of Henry VIII. Another prominent figure was Edward Dunne (1853-1937), who served as the 34th Governor of Illinois from 1913 to 1917.

Other notable Dunnes throughout history include John Dunne (1928-2003), an Irish actor best known for his roles in films like "The Gingerbread Man" and "True Confessions". Sister Mary Aquinas Dunne (1901-1984) was a renowned Irish nun and educator who founded several schools in Ireland and the United States.

In the world of literature, Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) was an American humorist and writer best known for his fictional character, Mr. Dooley, an Irish-American bartender whose witty observations satirized political and social issues of the time.

Despite its Irish origins, the surname Dunne has spread to various parts of the world, particularly through emigration from Ireland during periods of famine and unrest in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dunne

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dunne.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dunne was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dunne has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dunne was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dunne, please contact us.

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