2000
#11,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,408
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Doby
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Robert, meaning "bright fame."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,753 Americans carry the last name Doby. That puts it at #12,355 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,502 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Doby 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
2.8K
1 in 124,502
Census rank
#12,355
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,401 bearers of the surname Doby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12355th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Doby, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Doby
The surname Doby originated in England during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word 'dob', meaning a small pit or hollow. The name was likely first adopted by someone living near such a geographic feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Doby appears in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1365, where a Robert Doby is mentioned. The Feet of Fines were records of land transactions in medieval England.
In the 16th century, the name Doby was found in various parts of England, including Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. The Lincolnshire parish records from 1564 list a baptism for a John Doby.
A notable early bearer of the surname was Richard Doby, a merchant and alderman in the city of York in the late 16th century. He served as Lord Mayor of York in 1593.
The Doby surname is also associated with the village of Dobbies in Northumberland. This place name, recorded as 'Dobbes' in 1242, likely shares the same etymological root as the surname.
In the 17th century, a Thomas Doby (1624-1670) was a prominent English divine and author, serving as the Archdeacon of Rochester and writing several religious works.
Another notable figure was Sir Samuel Doby (1652-1716), a wealthy English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1708.
During the 18th century, the Doby family had a presence in Virginia, with John Doby (1730-1805) being a prominent planter and landowner in Culpeper County.
In the 19th century, the name Doby was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Northumberland. A notable bearer was George Doby (1808-1888), a successful businessman and philanthropist in Hull.
The surname Doby has also been recorded in different spellings over time, such as Dobbie, Dobey, and Dobey, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doby
Among Census respondents with the surname Doby, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Doby 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 Doby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.3% · 1,135
- Black or African American44.6% · 1,072
- Two or more races4.7% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Doby
Doby 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
#12,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,542
+134 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 335 places
2020
#12,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,401
-141 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,903 | 2,408 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,238 | 2,542 | 0.86 | +134 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 335 places |
| 2020 | #12,355 | 2,401 | 0.80 | -141 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 117 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 Doby 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 | #12,238 | #12,355 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,542 | 2,401 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.80 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Doby bearers went from 2,542 to 2,401 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,238 to #12,355.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Doby
FAQ
Doby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Doby?
Name Census estimates that about 2,753 living Americans carry the surname Doby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,502 residents.
How common is Doby?
Doby ranks #12,355 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,401 people with the surname Doby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,753), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Doby.
Has Doby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Doby went from 2,542 recorded bearers to 2,401. That is a decrease of 141 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,238 to #12,355.
What does the Census say about the background of Doby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Doby, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Doby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (1,135 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Doby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.3%), Black (44.6%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Doby (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 Doby mean?
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Robert, meaning "bright fame." 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 Doby (0.80 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 Doby?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.