Explore the Family Name Dowson

The meaning of Dowson

English (Durham and North Yorkshire): 1. patronymic from the Middle English personal name Dow, a side form of Daw and a pet form of Ralph. Dow can be pronounced to rhyme with either hoe or how. The Durham surname alternates with Dawson from the 16th century onward. 2. alternatively, a patronymic from the Middle English personal name Douce (see Dowse).

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Dowson has seen a decrease from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 44,350th in terms of popularity and had a count of 457. However, by 2010, its rank had declined to 54,752nd and the count was reduced to 376. This represents a change of -23.45% in rank and -17.72% in count. The proportion per 100,000 also saw a reduction, falling from 0.17 in 2000 to 0.13 in 2010, a decrease of -23.53%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#44,350	#54,752	-23.45%
Count	457	376	-17.72%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.13	-23.53%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dowson

On the ethnicity front, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Dowson identified as White, which increased from 68.49% in 2000 to 79.52% in 2010. This is followed by those who identify as Black, whose proportion decreased significantly from 26.91% to 14.63%. A small percentage identified as belonging to two or more races, which increased from 1.97% to 2.66%, while the proportion identifying as Hispanic saw a slight decrease from 2.63% to 2.13%. There were no reported instances of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native for both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	68.49%	79.52%	16.1%
Black	26.91%	14.63%	-45.63%
Two or More Races	1.97%	2.66%	35.03%
Hispanic	2.63%	2.13%	-19.01%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%