# Dover (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/dover/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 9,742 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,651 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 31,692 people |
| Change since 2000 | +6.0% (9,191 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdoʊ.vɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English Dofras, from Latin Dubris, from Brythonic Dubras (“the waters”), from Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubrós (“dark”), from *dʰewb- (“deep”). Compare Tauber. The village in Nova Scotia is likely named after the town in England.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Dover in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 83% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 11% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Dover in the United States.

## People named Dover

- Robert Dover, American equestrian
- Beth Dover, American actress
- Eric Dover, American musician

## Similar surnames

Devore, Dever, Diver, Devora, Dupree, Dupre, Deboer, Deberry, Deaver, Dufour, Devera, Dewberry.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.