2000
#4,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,576
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.81
Rare Last name
Durkin
Derived from the Irish Ó Duircheáin or Ó Deargáin, meaning "descendant of the dark one" or "descendant of Deargán."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,365 Americans carry the last name Durkin. That puts it at #4,708 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Durkin 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Durkin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.4K
1 in 40,975
Census rank
#4,708
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,295 bearers of the surname Durkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4708th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Durkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Durkin
The surname Durkin is of Irish origin, and it can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a variant of the name Durcan, which itself is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Ó Dorcáin" or "Ó Dúrcáin." This name is derived from the Irish word "dorcán," which means "little dark one" or "little dark-featured one."
The name Durkin was initially found in County Mayo and County Galway in the west of Ireland. These areas were part of the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Connacht, where the Ó Dorcáin clan was based. The surname is also associated with the Ó Madadhán clan, whose territory was in the region of Síol Anmchadha (now County Galway).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Durkin can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention a certain "Donnchadh Ó Dorcáin" who was a chief of the Ó Dorcáin clan in County Mayo in the 13th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various legal and administrative records from the west of Ireland. For instance, a man named "Dermot Durkin" is mentioned in a document from 1585, which refers to a land dispute in County Galway.
The earliest known bearer of the surname Durkin was likely Tadhg Ó Dorcáin, a 13th-century Irish chieftain and poet from County Mayo. Other notable individuals with the surname Durkin include Amhlaoibh Ó Dorcáin (fl. 1390), an Irish poet and scholar, and Patrick Durkin (1856-1935), an Irish-American prelate who served as the Bishop of Bellingen in Queensland, Australia.
The name Durkin has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, including Durkin's Cross in County Galway and Durkin's Lough in County Mayo. These place names likely originated from the presence of Durkin families in those areas.
Other prominent bearers of the surname Durkin throughout history include William Durkin (1826-1888), an Irish journalist and political activist, and Michael Durkin (1878-1953), an Irish-American prelate who served as the Bishop of El Paso, Texas.
In summary, the surname Durkin has its roots in the ancient Irish Gaelic name "Ó Dorcáin," and it has been present in the west of Ireland, particularly in Counties Mayo and Galway, since at least the 12th century. The name has a long and rich history, with numerous notable bearers and associations with various places in Ireland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Durkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Durkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Durkin 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 Durkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 6,748
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 254
- Two or more races2.6% · 191
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 59
- Black or African American0.5% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Durkin
Durkin 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
#4,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,975
+399 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.70
Rank movement Down 108 places
2020
#4,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,295
-680 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 2.44
Rank movement Down 260 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,340 | 7,576 | 2.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,448 | 7,975 | 2.70 | +399 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 108 places |
| 2020 | #4,708 | 7,295 | 2.44 | -680 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 260 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 Durkin 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 | #4,448 | #4,708 | -5.8% |
| Count | 7,975 | 7,295 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.70 | 2.44 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Durkin bearers went from 7,975 to 7,295 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 260 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,448 to #4,708.
FAQ
Durkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Durkin?
Name Census estimates that about 8,365 living Americans carry the surname Durkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,975 residents.
How common is Durkin?
Durkin ranks #4,708 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,295 people with the surname Durkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,365), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Durkin.
Has Durkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Durkin went from 7,975 recorded bearers to 7,295. That is a decrease of 680 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,448 to #4,708.
What does the Census say about the background of Durkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Durkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Durkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (6,748 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Durkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Durkin (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 Durkin mean?
Derived from the Irish Ó Duircheáin or Ó Deargáin, meaning "descendant of the dark one" or "descendant of Deargán." 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 Durkin (2.44 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 Durkin?
See how many people have the surname Durkin on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.