Dunbar Surname

10,352nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 54,368 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Dunbar Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Dunbar.' A Scotch surname.

Philippus Donbar, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Dunbar Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States34,9211:10,3791,265
England4,4901:12,4091,827
Australia3,8651:6,9851,028
Canada3,3361:11,0451,653
Scotland2,4331:2,201404
Jamaica1,2441:2,307364
Liberia1,0821:4,074512
South Africa6681:81,10410,011
New Zealand5071:8,9321,540
Ireland5011:9,3991,270
Northern Ireland4651:3,968789
Wales1641:18,8692,022
Trinidad and Tobago931:14,6661,875
France781:851,573100,617
Guyana481:15,8802,122
Thailand441:1,605,417210,847
Zimbabwe391:395,85235,770
Germany351:2,300,156119,987
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines331:3,414507
Singapore301:183,5907,666
Denmark281:201,59716,538
Brazil181:11,893,018236,958
Nigeria151:11,809,517219,567
Cayman Islands141:4,564572
Malaysia131:2,268,78789,138
Isle of Man121:7,1521,559
Switzerland111:746,62949,719
India111:69,733,217610,955
Sweden91:1,094,08481,336
Sierra Leone91:787,737678
United Arab Emirates91:1,018,03036,884
Haiti91:1,187,10112,579
Estonia81:165,22626,217
Jersey71:14,1722,872
Mexico71:17,732,31550,495
Netherlands71:2,412,45494,797
Turks and Caicos Islands61:5,722548
China61:227,886,92811,701
Grenada61:18,0891,003
Ecuador51:3,181,16927,617
Fiji41:223,5982,635
Kuwait41:950,17418,811
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Philippines41:25,309,556279,062
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
Malta41:107,5681,849
Iraq41:8,755,41423,373
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
Puerto Rico31:1,183,3805,289
Panama31:1,304,08613,647
Zambia21:7,924,96145,994
Cyprus21:442,4389,493
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
Belgium21:5,748,322130,559
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Cambodia11:15,487,14614,824
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Cook Islands11:18,1791,485
American Samoa11:55,7583,072
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Paraguay11:7,236,74616,511
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland7431:5,962963
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland2,2731:1,647303
England1,1621:20,9772,963
Wales211:74,6863,520
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7,7311:6,496811

Dunbar (527) may also be a first name.

Dunbar Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Dunbar.' A Scotch surname.

Philippus Donbar, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

From the old lands or barony of Dunbar. The first individuals to use the name were the descendants of Earl Gospatric (of Northumberland, 1067—1072), descendant of Crinan, thane of Dunkeld. The latter's parentage "is not certainly known, but his grandfather was probably Duncan, lay-abbot of Dunkeld, who was killed in 965, and his mother or grandmother may have been a daughter of one of the last kings of the Isles" (Sc. Peer., III, p. 240). John de Dunbar witnessed a gift of land to the Hospital of Soltre c. 1250—66 (Soltre, p. 32), Adam of Dunbar, 1269 (Bain, I, p. 511), Robert de Dunbar, burgess of Abirbrothoc, 1382 (RAA., II, 38). Robert Dunbarre of Scotland had letters of safe conduct to remain in England for a time in 1398 (Bain, IV, 507). James Dunbar, a Scots prisoner of war in Knaresburgh, 1425 (ibid., 981), and another James of Dunbar had a safe conduct into England in 1451 (ibid., 1232). In 1368 the Dunbars acquired the lands of Glenkens and Mochrum (Agnew, I, p. 230), and the Dunbars of Caithness, who appear there in the middle of the fifteenth century, are descended from the Dunbars of Westfield. Dounbare 1692, Dumbar 1625, Dumbare 1600.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Celtic) belonging to Dunbar = the Fort of the Summit [Gaelic dún, a fort + barr]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) One who lived on the lands of Dunbar (fort on the height), in Scotland.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A parish and town in Haddingtonshire, anciently the fief of the famous historical earls of Dunbar, immediate descendants of Gospatric, earl of Northumberland, who fled into Scotland with Edgar Atheling at the Norman Conquest, and to whom Malcolm Canmore gave the manor soon afterwards.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local: from Dunbar in Haddingtonshire-dunabar, the castle on the hill. Crinan, Earl of Northumberland, before the Conquest, was father of Maldred, Earl of Northumberland, whose son, Gospatrick, Earl of Northumberland, having incurred the displeasure of William the Conqueror, went to Scotland in 1068, he was there created Thane of Dunbar and Lothian, and his descendants afterwards assumed the surname of Dunbar.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Local. From the town of Dunbar, at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, Scotland. Dunabar, Gaelic, signifies the castle, town, or fort on the height or summit. The town was so called from its situation on the rock which at this place projects into the sea.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

(Scotch) Bar's hill is the signification of the local name. The family of Dunbar were called by the Gaels Barridh; i. e., Descendants of Bar. Dun, a castle, a height. Dundas, Hill of the fallow-deer. Dunlop, Castle of the elbow or bend. (variant: du Guesclin and von Katzenellebogen.)

Surnames (1857) by Bernard Homer Dixon

A location name in Haddingtonshire.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Dunbar Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Dunbar Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Dunbar (Arabic: دنبر, Hindi: डुंबर, Marathi: डंबर) is carried by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may be found as:. Click here for other potential spellings of Dunbar.

How Common Is The Last Name Dunbar? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 10,352nd most frequently held surname world-wide It is held by approximately 1 in 134,041 people. The last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 64 percent of Dunbar reside; 61 percent reside in North America and 61 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Dunbar is also the 367,549th most frequently held forename globally. It is borne by 527 people.

The last name is most widely held in The United States, where it is carried by 34,921 people, or 1 in 10,379. In The United States it is most common in: California, where 8 percent live, Texas, where 6 percent live and Florida, where 6 percent live. Apart from The United States this surname exists in 85 countries. It also occurs in England, where 8 percent live and Australia, where 7 percent live.

Dunbar Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Dunbar has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Dunbar surname increased 452 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 386 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 107 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it fell 33 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 781 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Dunbar Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Dunbar surname is predominantly Catholic (41%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Dunbar surname are 9.51% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 56.28% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Dunbar earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 84.58% more than the national average, earning R 438,624 per year; in United States they earn 3.04% less than the national average, earning $41,836 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.69% more than the national average, earning $51,514 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Dunbarr9278/
Dunbare9231/
Dunnbar9212/
Dunbard925/
Dunmbar921/
Dunbear920/
Dunbaur920/
Dunbart920/
Dunbhare8610/
Dunnbare862/
Dunmbare862/
Dunnbarr860/
Dumbar83753/
Donbar8347/
Dunwar8310/
Dunvar835/
Dunbor831/
Dusinbare800/
Dumbare778,056/
Dumbard778/
Daunvar776/
Dunware775/
Daumbar773/
Dunvare772/
Doumbar772/
Dhunuar772/
Dunbore772/
Dhunwar771/
Dunbord771/
Duinwar771/
Dunborr770/
Dumbart770/
Dusenbarre750/
Dumbhare711,318/
Dhumbare7149/
Doumbare7116/
Dhunware717/
Dhunvare715/
Dhounwar711/
Daunward711/
Dumbahre711/
Dumbarre711/
Dombar672,175/
Dumbor67161/
Donwar6729/
Dumbarova6722/
Dhumbhare675/
Dhunwaare671/
Dhaumbare671/
Dunwor670/

Dunbar Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Dunbar in the Hindi language
डुंबरdumbara-
Dunbar in the Marathi language
डंबरdambara-
Dunbar in the Arabic language
دنبرdnbr-
دانبرdanbr-

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Dunbar Reference & Research

Dunbar One-name Study - A profile of the Dunbar surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Dunbar
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis