2000
#23,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,014
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.38
Rare Last name
Dworkin
A surname indicating an origin near a village or manor named Dworkin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,091 Americans carry the last name Dworkin. That puts it at #26,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 314,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dworkin 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
1.1K
1 in 314,165
Census rank
#26,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
951
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 951 bearers of the surname Dworkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dworkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dworkin
The surname Dworkin is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, derived from the Yiddish word "dvor" meaning "courtyard" or "palace". It likely originated in the Pale of Settlement, an area of the Russian Empire where Jews were allowed to reside, encompassing parts of modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Dworkin can be traced back to the 17th century in various Polish and Russian documents. The name was often spelled in slightly different variations, such as Dvorkin, Dworkin, or Dworkin, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings during that time period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Dworkin was Rabbi Avraham Dworkin, a prominent Talmudic scholar who lived in the late 17th century in the town of Kalisz, Poland. His commentary on the Talmud, known as the "Dvar Avraham," was widely studied and influential in Jewish communities.
In the 19th century, the surname Dworkin can be found in various records and documents from the Russian Empire. For example, Isaac Dworkin, a merchant from the town of Vitebsk (now in Belarus), is mentioned in trade records from the 1850s.
As Jews migrated from Eastern Europe to other parts of the world, the surname Dworkin spread to various countries. In the late 19th century, Joseph Dworkin, a Polish-born Jew, immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City, where he established a successful textile business.
Another notable individual with the surname Dworkin was Andrea Dworkin, an American radical feminist and writer who lived from 1946 to 2005. She was a prominent figure in the anti-pornography movement and wrote several influential works, including "Pornography: Men Possessing Women" and "Intercourse."
Other individuals with the surname Dworkin include Ronald Dworkin, a renowned legal philosopher and professor at Oxford University and New York University (1931-2013), and Blake Dworkin, an American professional baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams in the 1990s and 2000s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dworkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Dworkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dworkin 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 Dworkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 899
- Two or more races2.5% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 11
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dworkin
Dworkin 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
#24,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,032
+18 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Down 914 places
2020
#26,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 951
-81 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 2,635 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,391 | 1,014 | 0.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,305 | 1,032 | 0.35 | +18 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 914 places |
| 2020 | #26,940 | 951 | 0.32 | -81 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 2,635 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 Dworkin 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 | #24,305 | #26,940 | -10.8% |
| Count | 1,032 | 951 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.35 | 0.32 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dworkin bearers went from 1,032 to 951 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 2,635 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,305 to #26,940.
FAQ
Dworkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dworkin?
Name Census estimates that about 1,091 living Americans carry the surname Dworkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 314,165 residents.
How common is Dworkin?
Dworkin ranks #26,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 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 951 people with the surname Dworkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,091), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 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 Dworkin.
Has Dworkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dworkin went from 1,032 recorded bearers to 951. That is a decrease of 81 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,305 to #26,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Dworkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dworkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Dworkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (899 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dworkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Dworkin (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 Dworkin mean?
A surname indicating an origin near a village or manor named Dworkin. 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 Dworkin (0.32 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 Americans have the surname Dworkin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.