2000
#1,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,854
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.62
Uncommon Last name
Darby
A locational surname referring to a person from Derby, England, or a place with a similar name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,688 Americans carry the last name Darby. That puts it at #1,951 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,568 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Darby 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 Darby with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,568
Census rank
#1,951
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,041 bearers of the surname Darby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1951st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Darby, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Darby
The surname "DARBY" originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period between the 5th and 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning deer and "by" meaning a village or town, suggesting that the name likely referred to someone who lived in a deer-related settlement.
The name is found in its earliest forms in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants after the Norman Conquest. Entries such as "Derbi" and "Derberie" appear, referring to the town of Derby in Derbyshire. This implies that the surname may have initially been a locational name for someone from that area.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Robert de Dereby, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166. Another early record is that of Henry de Dereby, who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1283.
The surname has seen various spellings throughout history, including Derbie, Derbey, Darbie, and Darbye, before settling on the modern form of Darby. These variations reflect the phonetic nature of the name and regional accents.
Noteworthy individuals with the surname Darby include John Darby (1800-1882), an influential evangelist and one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement, and Abraham Darby I (1677-1717), an English ironmaster who pioneered the use of coke in the smelting of iron.
Other notable Darbys are Sir Ralph Darby (1725-1811), a British politician and landowner, and Emily Darby (1845-1931), an American philanthropist and founder of the Darby Free Library in Pennsylvania.
The surname Darby has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Darby Green in Surrey and Darby Dale in Derbyshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darby
Among Census respondents with the surname Darby, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Darby 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 Darby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 10,765
- Black or African American32.4% · 5,843
- Two or more races3.9% · 700
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 545
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 109
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 79
Timeline
Historical Census data for Darby
Darby 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
#1,921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,757
+903 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 6.36
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#1,951
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,041
-716 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 6.04
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,850 | 17,854 | 6.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,921 | 18,757 | 6.36 | +903 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #1,951 | 18,041 | 6.04 | -716 bearers (-3.8%) | 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 Darby 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 | #1,921 | #1,951 | -1.6% |
| Count | 18,757 | 18,041 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.36 | 6.04 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Darby bearers went from 18,757 to 18,041 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,921 to #1,951.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Darby
FAQ
Darby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Darby?
Name Census estimates that about 20,688 living Americans carry the surname Darby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,568 residents.
How common is Darby?
Darby ranks #1,951 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,041 people with the surname Darby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,688), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Darby.
Has Darby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Darby went from 18,757 recorded bearers to 18,041. That is a decrease of 716 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,921 to #1,951.
What does the Census say about the background of Darby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Darby, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Darby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (10,765 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Darby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.7%), Black (32.4%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Darby (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 Darby mean?
A locational surname referring to a person from Derby, England, or a place with a similar name. 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 Darby (6.04 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 Darby?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.