Explore the Family Name Dampier

The meaning of Dampier

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Dampierre, named in honor of St. Peter. The first element, Dam- or Don, is an Old French title of respect (from Latin dominus ‘lord’), often prefixed to the names of saints.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Dampier in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Dampier has shown consistent growth between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it held rank 12,553 with a count of 2,264 which increased to a count of 2,475 by 2010, pushing up its ranking slightly to 12,520. This indicates an increase in popularity marked by a change of 0.26 in rank and a 9.32% increase in count. The proportion per 100k people, however, remained constant at 0.84.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#12,553	#12,520	0.26%
Count	2,264	2,475	9.32%
Proportion per 100k	0.84	0.84	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dampier

Analyzing the ethnic identity associated with the surname Dampier, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that most bearers of this surname identify as White, despite a slight decrease from 70.45% in 2000 to 67.15% in 2010. Meanwhile, individuals identifying as Black saw an increase from 26.06% to 28.65%. Those reporting two or more races also rose significantly from 1.46% to 2.18%. A small percentage of people with the surname Dampier identified as Hispanic, with a slight increase of 12.06% over the decade. However, those who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native fell to zero in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	70.45%	67.15%	-4.68%
Black	26.06%	28.65%	9.94%
Two or More Races	1.46%	2.18%	49.32%
Hispanic	1.41%	1.58%	12.06%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.27%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.35%	0%	0%