2000
#1,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,894
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.45
Uncommon Last name
Dailey
Derived from a location or indicating someone who lived near a dale or valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 35,950 Americans carry the last name Dailey. That puts it at #1,102 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,534 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dailey 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 Dailey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,534
Census rank
#1,102
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,350 bearers of the surname Dailey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1102nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dailey, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dailey
The surname Dailey is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic word "Dálaigh" meaning "descendant of the fosterer". It is believed to have originated in the 10th century in County Westmeath, Ireland.
The name is thought to have evolved from the Old Irish personal name "Dálach", which was derived from the word "dáil" meaning "foster child" or "foster son". The Daileys were a prominent Irish clan who held lands in Westmeath and were known as skilled poets and scholars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Dailey poet named Gilla na Naem Ua Dalaigh who died in 1064. The name is also found in the Annals of the Four Masters, another important medieval Irish text, which references several members of the Dailey clan in the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, the Dailey surname began to appear in English records as Irish immigrants settled in England and Wales. One notable early bearer of the name was Richard Dailey, a merchant from County Westmeath who was active in London in the late 16th century.
During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century, many Daileys were dispossessed of their lands in Westmeath and relocated to other parts of Ireland. Some members of the clan also emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas during this period.
Among the notable Daileys in history are:
1. Muirchertach Ua Dálaigh (fl. 1140s), an Irish poet and chief ollamh (head poet) of Ireland.
2. Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh (c. 1320-1387), an Irish poet and historian.
3. John Dailey (c. 1785-1853), an Irish-American political leader and merchant in Philadelphia.
4. Michael Dailey (1796-1868), an Irish-American Catholic priest and author.
5. Rufus Dailey (1834-1907), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
The Dailey surname continues to be found predominantly in Ireland, particularly in Counties Westmeath, Longford, and Meath, as well as in Irish diaspora communities around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dailey
Among Census respondents with the surname Dailey, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Dailey 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 Dailey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 23,361
- Black or African American16.6% · 5,189
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,414
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 948
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 239
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 199
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dailey
Dailey 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
#1,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,719
+1,825 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 11.09
Rank movement Down 34 places
2020
#1,102
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,350
-1,369 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 10.49
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,038 | 30,894 | 11.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,072 | 32,719 | 11.09 | +1,825 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 34 places |
| 2020 | #1,102 | 31,350 | 10.49 | -1,369 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 30 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 Dailey 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 | #1,072 | #1,102 | -2.8% |
| Count | 32,719 | 31,350 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 11.09 | 10.49 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dailey bearers went from 32,719 to 31,350 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,072 to #1,102.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dailey
FAQ
Dailey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dailey?
Name Census estimates that about 35,950 living Americans carry the surname Dailey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,534 residents.
How common is Dailey?
Dailey ranks #1,102 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,350 people with the surname Dailey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (35,950), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Dailey.
Has Dailey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dailey went from 32,719 recorded bearers to 31,350. That is a decrease of 1,369 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,072 to #1,102.
What does the Census say about the background of Dailey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dailey, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Dailey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (23,361 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dailey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Black (16.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Dailey (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 Dailey mean?
Derived from a location or indicating someone who lived near a dale or valley. 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 Dailey (10.49 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 have the surname Dailey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.