2000
#13,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,029
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Dwight
From the Old English words "dwig" and "hiht," meaning "strong" and "brave," respectively, indicating a valiant individual.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,266 Americans carry the last name Dwight. That puts it at #14,513 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,260 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dwight 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 Dwight with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 151,260
Census rank
#14,513
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,976 bearers of the surname Dwight in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14513th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dwight, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dwight
The surname Dwight originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning "deer" and "wiht" meaning "creature" or "island". The name likely referred to someone who lived near an island or area inhabited by deer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Duiet in Berkshire. Other early spellings include Duit, Duiet, and Duyte. The name was concentrated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire in southern England during the Middle Ages.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Dwight (c. 1360-1428), a knight and landowner in Buckinghamshire. Another was Sir Robert Dwight (c. 1490-1552), a Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, the Dwight family established themselves in Oxfordshire, where they became prominent landowners and clergymen. One member, Josiah Dwight (1572-1639), was a Puritan minister who emigrated to New England in 1635, becoming one of the founders of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dwight include:
1. Timothy Dwight (1752-1817), an American minister, educator, and president of Yale University.
2. Theodore Dwight (1796-1866), an American educator and lawyer who served as the Secretary of the Hartford Convention.
3. John Dwight (1859-1928), an American businessman and co-founder of the Dwight Manufacturing Company.
4. Edmund Dwight (1835-1920), an American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Dwight Schools in New York City.
5. Harry Dwight (1882-1957), an American actor and director known for his work in silent films.
While the name's popularity has waned in recent times, the Dwight surname remains a part of English and American history, reflecting its Anglo-Saxon origins and the notable individuals who carried it over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dwight
Among Census respondents with the surname Dwight, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dwight 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 Dwight surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 1,294
- Black or African American22.2% · 438
- Two or more races5.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dwight
Dwight 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
#14,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,091
+62 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 605 places
2020
#14,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,976
-115 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,707 | 2,029 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,312 | 2,091 | 0.71 | +62 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 605 places |
| 2020 | #14,513 | 1,976 | 0.66 | -115 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 201 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 Dwight 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 | #14,312 | #14,513 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,091 | 1,976 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.66 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dwight bearers went from 2,091 to 1,976 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,312 to #14,513.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dwight
FAQ
Dwight surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dwight?
Name Census estimates that about 2,266 living Americans carry the surname Dwight. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,260 residents.
How common is Dwight?
Dwight ranks #14,513 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,976 people with the surname Dwight. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,266), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dwight.
Has Dwight become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dwight went from 2,091 recorded bearers to 1,976. That is a decrease of 115 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,312 to #14,513.
What does the Census say about the background of Dwight?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dwight, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Dwight in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (1,294 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dwight appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.5%), Black (22.2%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Dwight (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 Dwight mean?
From the Old English words "dwig" and "hiht," meaning "strong" and "brave," respectively, indicating a valiant individual. 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 Dwight (0.66 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 Dwight?
Want to know how many people are called Dwight? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.