How common is the surname Dobbs?

18,476 people in the United States had the surname Dobbs in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,711 Americans. It ranked 1,956th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dobbs?

Lou Dobbs, American conservative political commentator (1945–2024), followed by Michael Dobbs.

Where is the surname Dobbs most common?

Wikidata records people named Dobbs in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Dobbs getting more or less common?

More common. 18,021 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,476 in 2010, up 2.5%.

The surname Dobbs

A patronymic surname, carried by 18,476 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex D120

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Dobbs is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert + the patronymic suffix -s.

Dobbs is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,476 people named Dobbs in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,711 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,021.

#1,956

rank among US surnames

18,476

people in 2010

6.3

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,829)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,947	Allred	18,526	16,666
#1,948	Bledsoe	18,510	16,680
#1,949	Rhoades	18,508	16,682
#1,950	Ricks	18,506	16,684
#1,951	Spicer	18,501	16,688
#1,952	Ordonez	18,498	16,691
#1,953	Chavarria	18,492	16,696

Who is named Dobbs

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

82% of people named Dobbs identified as white (not Hispanic), 12% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 82%
Black (not Hispanic) 12%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Dobbss

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lou Dobbs
American conservative political commentator (1945–2024)
Michael Dobbs
British conservative politician and author (born 1948)
Farrell Dobbs
American labour organizer, left-wing politician, historian (1907-1983)
Greg Dobbs
American baseball player, born 1978

Notable Dobbss come mostly from the United States (3) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Dobbs

Dobbs has the Soundex code D120, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D120.

Questions

Where does the surname Dobbs come from?: From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert + the patronymic suffix -s.
How common is the surname Dobbs?: 18,476 people in the United States had the surname Dobbs in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,711 Americans. It ranked 1,956th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dobbs?: In the 2010 Census, 82% of people named Dobbs identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dobbs?: Lou Dobbs, American conservative political commentator (1945–2024), followed by Michael Dobbs.
Where is the surname Dobbs most common?: Wikidata records people named Dobbs in the United States and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Dobbs?: Dobbs is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Dobbs getting more or less common?: More common. 18,021 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,476 in 2010, up 2.5%.