How common is the surname Downer?

5,277 people in the United States had the surname Downer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 58,508 Americans. It ranked 6,436th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Downer?

Alexander Downer, Australian politician (born 1951), followed by Carol Downer.

Where is the surname Downer most common?

Wikidata records people named Downer in Australia and the United States.

Is the surname Downer getting more or less common?

More common. 4,393 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,277 in 2010, up 20%.

The surname Downer

A surname, carried by 5,277 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex D560

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Downer is more common than 96% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 5,277 people named Downer in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 58,508 Americans. That is up 20% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,393.

#6,436

rank among US surnames

5,277

people in 2010

1.8

per 100,000 Americans

+20.1%

change since 2000 (was #7,031)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,430	Ringer	5,283	58,441
#6,431	Brehm	5,282	58,452
#6,434	Malave	5,278	58,497
#6,436	Downer	5,277	58,508
#6,437	Witcher	5,275	58,530

Who is named Downer

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

68% of people named Downer identified as white (not Hispanic), 27% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 68%
Black (not Hispanic) 27%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Downers

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Alexander Downer
Australian politician (born 1951)
Carol Downer
American activist, 1933–2025

Notable Downers come mostly from Australia (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Downer

Downer has the Soundex code D560, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D560.

Questions

How common is the surname Downer?: 5,277 people in the United States had the surname Downer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 58,508 Americans. It ranked 6,436th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Downer?: In the 2010 Census, 68% of people named Downer identified as white (not Hispanic), and 27% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Downer?: Alexander Downer, Australian politician (born 1951), followed by Carol Downer.
Where is the surname Downer most common?: Wikidata records people named Downer in Australia and the United States.
Is the surname Downer getting more or less common?: More common. 4,393 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,277 in 2010, up 20%.