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

Dunwoody, 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 Dunwoody surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dunwoody in America

Dunwoody is the 21413th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dunwoody surname appeared 1,221 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dunwoody.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody

The surname Dunwoody has its origins in Scotland and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words "dun" meaning a fort or hill and "woddi" meaning a wood, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a wooded hill or fortified structure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document containing the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Dunwodeye" in this record.

In the 16th century, the Dunwoody family held lands in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire, Scotland. John Dunwoody, born around 1520, is believed to be one of the earliest known individuals with this surname.

The name Dunwoody has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Dunwoodie in the parish of Mauchline, Ayrshire, and Dunwoodie in the parish of Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Dunwoody include:

1. Sir Henry Liston Dunwoody (1843-1926), a British civil engineer and contractor who played a significant role in the construction of the Royal Albert Hall in London.

2. Basil Dunwoody (1892-1988), a British politician and trade union leader who served as the General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen from 1947 to 1962.

3. Gwyneth Dunwoody (1930-2008), a British politician and member of the Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament for over 40 years.

4. Robert Dunwoody (1803-1868), a Scottish-American merchant and entrepreneur who founded the town of Dunwoody, Georgia, in the United States.

5. William Dunwoody (1832-1896), a Canadian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

While the surname Dunwoody has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, where it is particularly prevalent in the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dunwoody

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

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 Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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