2000
#3,130
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,583
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.92
Uncommon Last name
Dunning
An English locational surname referring to someone from a place called Dunning, derived from the Old English for "hill pasture."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,663 Americans carry the last name Dunning. That puts it at #3,433 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,388 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dunning 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 Dunning with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 29,388
Census rank
#3,433
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,171 bearers of the surname Dunning in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3433rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunning, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dunning
The surname Dunning originated from the Old English word "dun", meaning a hill or low ridge. It was a topographic name given to someone who lived on or near a hill. The name is derived from the place name Dunning, a village in Perthshire, Scotland, whose name is formed from the same Old English word.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Dunning dates back to the 13th century in Scotland. One of the earliest references to the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which mention a John de Dunyn in 1293. The name also appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage letters to Edward I of England, where it is spelled as Dounyng.
In England, the name is found in various records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it is recorded as Dunnyng. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also mention a Thomas de Dunninges in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was William Dunning, a Scottish landowner who lived in the 14th century. He was granted lands in Dunning, Perthshire, by King David II of Scotland in 1362.
Another notable person with the name was Sir John Dunning (1731-1783), an English lawyer and politician. He served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1768 to 1770 and was later appointed Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Dunning was John Dunning, who was born in England in 1616 and immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. He later settled in Newbury, Massachusetts.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dunning include:
1. Samuel Newton Dunning (1838-1922), an American lawyer and politician who served as Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.
2. Annie Hart Dunning (1847-1935), an American educator and author who founded the New York Cooking School.
3. Albert Elijah Dunning (1857-1923), an American artist and illustrator known for his depictions of American Indian life.
4. William Archibald Dunning (1857-1922), an American historian and professor at Columbia University.
5. John Dunning (1942-2011), an English writer and expert on crime fiction, best known for his reference works on the genre.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dunning
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunning, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dunning 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 Dunning surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.6% · 7,892
- Black or African American13.9% · 1,410
- Two or more races4.0% · 405
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 353
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dunning
Dunning 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
#3,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,784
+201 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 3.66
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#3,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,171
-613 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 3.40
Rank movement Down 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,130 | 10,583 | 3.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,330 | 10,784 | 3.66 | +201 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #3,433 | 10,171 | 3.40 | -613 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 103 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 Dunning 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 | #3,330 | #3,433 | -3.1% |
| Count | 10,784 | 10,171 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.66 | 3.40 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dunning bearers went from 10,784 to 10,171 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,330 to #3,433.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dunning
FAQ
Dunning surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dunning?
Name Census estimates that about 11,663 living Americans carry the surname Dunning. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,388 residents.
How common is Dunning?
Dunning ranks #3,433 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,171 people with the surname Dunning. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,663), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Dunning.
Has Dunning become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dunning went from 10,784 recorded bearers to 10,171. That is a decrease of 613 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,330 to #3,433.
What does the Census say about the background of Dunning?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunning, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dunning in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.6% (7,892 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dunning appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.6%), Black (13.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dunning (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 Dunning mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone from a place called Dunning, derived from the Old English for "hill pasture." 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 Dunning (3.40 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 Dunning?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Dunning at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.