Explore the Family Name Durban
The meaning of Durban
1. English (Somerset): variant of Thorburn. It has no connection with the French surname (and placename) Durban (see 3 below). Compare Durbin. 2. German: from the personal name Urban, the initial D- having been acquired by a misdivision of Sankt Urban ‘Saint Urban’. This surname is also found in France (Alsace). 3. French (southern) and Catalan; Spanish (Durbán): habitational name from any of various places called Durban, in Ariège, Aude, Gers, and Barcelona, presumably of Celtic origin. History: In 1835 the city of Durban (South Africa) was named after Sir Benjamin d’Urban, governor of Cape Colony. The inserted apostrophe in his name is an alteration of Durbin, as though it were a surname of Norman or French origin, from the French place name, formed with the preposition de ‘of, from’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Durban in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Durban has seen a decline between 2000 and 2010. Ranked at 49,671 in 2000, it dropped to 57,639 by 2010, marking a 16.04% decrease in rank. Similarly, the count of people with the Durban surname also fell from 397 to 353 during the same period, a decrease of 11.08%. As a result, the proportion of individuals named Durban per 100,000 people diminished by 20%, moving from 0.15 to 0.12.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #49,671 | #57,639 | -16.04% |
| Count | 397 | 353 | -11.08% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.15 | 0.12 | -20% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Durban
Moving onto ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows slight shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the surname Durban from 2000 to 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased from 4.03% to 3.40%. However, the overwhelming majority of individuals with the Durban surname identified as White, although there was a very minor dip from 92.70% in 2000 to 91.78% in 2010. Notably, the Hispanic population represented by the Durban surname emerged from 0% in 2000 to 3.12% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of those identifying as Black dropped to 0% in 2010 from 1.26% in 2000. There were no changes recorded for those identifying as belonging to two or more races or as American Indian and Alaskan Native.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.7% | 91.78% | -0.99% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 4.03% | 3.4% | -15.63% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 3.12% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 1.26% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |