Explore the Family Name Dorward

The meaning of Dorward

1. English and Scottish (Angus and Fife): occupational name from Older Scots, Middle English dor(e)ward ‘doorkeeper, porter’ (Old English duru-weard). In medieval Scotland the office of the king’s doorward, Hostiarius regis, was hereditary and of considerable honor. The specific surname still common around Arbroath is probably from the office of doorward of the Abbey. The 13th-century royal ushers or doorwards of Scotland were based at Lundie in Angus. 2. Americanized form of German Dorwart.

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

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

The surname Dorward's popularity, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, slightly decreased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 44,350th most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had fallen to the 46,902nd spot, marking a decline of 5.75%. The count of people with this surname also declined marginally, from 457 in 2000 to 453 in 2010, representing a decrease of 0.88%. This indicates that for every 100,000 people, there were fewer individuals named Dorward in 2010 than there were in 2000.

20002010Change
Rank#44,350#46,902-5.75%
Count457453-0.88%
Proportion per 100k0.170.15-11.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dorward

As for ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that there were slight shifts in the distribution among different ethnicities carrying the Dorward surname between 2000 and 2010. The vast majority of people with this surname identified as White, although this proportion dropped from 98.25% in 2000 to 95.14% in 2010. There was also an increase in the percentage of people identifying as Hispanic, from 1.09% in 2000 to 1.77% in 2010. Intriguingly, the 2010 data shows that some people with the surname Dorward identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, despite this group not being represented in the 2000 census data. Ethnic identities of Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native, or Two or more races were either reported as zero or suppressed for privacy reasons.

20002010Change
White98.25%95.14%-3.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%1.99%0%
Hispanic1.09%1.77%62.39%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%