2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Durity
A Scottish surname derived from the place name Dury, a parish near St Andrews.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 159 Americans carry the last name Durity. That puts it at #128,411 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,155,688 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Durity 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
159
1 in 2,155,688
Census rank
#128,411
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
139
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 139 bearers of the surname Durity in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 128411th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Durity, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.1%) and Two or More Races (8.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Durity
The surname Durity has its origins in medieval England, emerging in the county of Yorkshire during the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "dure," meaning "door" or "gate," and may have originally referred to someone who lived near a prominent doorway or gate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a William Durete is listed as a resident of Yorkshire. This early spelling variation suggests that the name may have evolved from "de la Durette," meaning "of the little door" in Old French.
During the 14th century, the Durity name appears to have spread to other parts of England, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in counties such as Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. One notable example is John Durity, a merchant from Nottingham who was recorded in the Borough Records of 1376.
In the 15th century, the Durity family gained prominence in the town of Doncaster, Yorkshire, where they were involved in local governance and trade. Sir William Durity (1420-1489) served as the mayor of Doncaster and was a respected figure in the community.
As the centuries progressed, the Durity surname spread further across England and into other parts of the British Isles. In Scotland, the name is sometimes recorded as Durrety or Durritie, with records showing individuals bearing these variations in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Notable figures with the Durity surname include Robert Durity (1621-1685), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious texts, and Elizabeth Durity (1734-1812), a renowned botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the 18th century.
Other notable individuals include Sir John Durity (1789-1867), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars, and Thomas Durity (1822-1901), an English industrialist who founded the Durity Manufacturing Company, a successful textile mill in Lancashire.
While the Durity name has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this surname found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Durity
Among Census respondents with the surname Durity, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.1%) and Two or More Races (8.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Durity 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 Durity surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.2% · 74
- White33.1% · 46
- Two or more races8.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Durity
Durity 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-9 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,591 places
2020
#128,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
+32 bearers (+29.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 24,217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 18,591 places |
| 2020 | #128,411 | 139 | 0.05 | +32 bearers (+29.9%) | Up 24,217 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 Durity 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 | #152,628 | #128,411 | 15.9% |
| Count | 107 | 139 | 29.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Durity bearers went from 107 to 139 (+29.9% change). The surname moved up 24,217 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #128,411.
FAQ
Durity surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Durity?
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the surname Durity. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,155,688 residents.
How common is Durity?
Durity ranks #128,411 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 139 people with the surname Durity. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Durity.
Has Durity become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Durity went from 107 recorded bearers to 139. That is an increase of 32 (+29.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #128,411.
What does the Census say about the background of Durity?
Among Census respondents with the surname Durity, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.1%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Durity in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (74 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Durity appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (53.2%), White (33.1%), Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Durity (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 Durity mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the place name Dury, a parish near St Andrews. 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 Durity (0.05 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 Durity?
If you just want to know how many people are called Durity, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.