How common is the surname Dowd?

13,590 people in the United States had the surname Dowd in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 22,719 Americans. It ranked 2,651st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dowd?

Ann Dowd, American actress, followed by Tom Dowd.

Where is the surname Dowd most common?

Wikidata records people named Dowd in the United States.

Is the surname Dowd getting more or less common?

More common. 13,279 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,590 in 2010, up 2.3%.

The surname Dowd

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 13,590 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex D300

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Dowd is more common than 98.4% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dubhda (“descendant of Dubhda”), a byname derived from dubh (“black”).

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

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 13,590 people named Dowd in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 22,719 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 13,279.

#2,651

rank among US surnames

13,590

people in 2010

4.6

per 100,000 Americans

+2.3%

change since 2000 (was #2,486)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,642	Hacker	13,625	22,660
#2,643	Bonds	13,620	22,669
#2,644	Pruett	13,618	22,672
#2,645	McCartney	13,615	22,677
#2,646	Tierney	13,608	22,689
#2,648	Braden	13,603	22,697
#2,650	Crouse	13,598	22,705

Who is named Dowd

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

89% of people named Dowd identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 89%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Dowds

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Ann Dowd
American actress, born 1956
Tom Dowd
American music producer (1925–2002)
Maureen Dowd
American journalist, born 1952
Jim Dowd
American ice hockey player, born 1968

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Dawdy
Dowdy

Surnames that sound like Dowd

Dowd has the Soundex code D300, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D300.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Dowd come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dubhda (“descendant of Dubhda”), a byname derived from dubh (“black”).
How common is the surname Dowd?: 13,590 people in the United States had the surname Dowd in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 22,719 Americans. It ranked 2,651st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dowd?: In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named Dowd identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dowd?: Ann Dowd, American actress, followed by Tom Dowd.
Where is the surname Dowd most common?: Wikidata records people named Dowd in the United States.
What type of surname is Dowd?: Dowd is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Dowd getting more or less common?: More common. 13,279 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,590 in 2010, up 2.3%.
What are other spellings of Dowd?: Dawdy and Dowdy.