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Dunn Family History

Dunn Surname Meaning

Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duinn Ó Doinn ‘descendant of Donn’ a byname meaning ‘brown-haired’ or ‘chieftain’. Compare Dunne. This name has sometimes been Anglicized as Brown.

English: nickname for a dark complexioned or swarthy man from Middle English dun ‘dun dark’ (Old English dunn ‘dull brown’).

Scottish: habitational name from Dun in Angus named with Gaelic dùn ‘fort’. Compare Dun.

German (Dünn): nickname for a thin slender person from Middle High German dünne ‘thin small slight weak’.

Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 鄧 see Deng.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Dunn family from?

You can see how Dunn families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dunn family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dunn families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 1,593 Dunn families living in Ontario. This was about 49% of all the recorded Dunn's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Dunn families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dunn surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Dunn ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Dunn. 30% of Dunn men worked as a Farmer and 13% of Dunn women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Dunn were Carpenter and Teacher.

View Census Data for Dunn | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    30%
  • Labourer
    10%
  • Laborer
    7%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Stenographer
    13%
  • Housekeeper
    12%
  • Clerk
    10%
  • Teacher
    7%

What Dunn family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Dunn. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dunn census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Dunn

Passenger Lists

There are 144,000 immigration records available for the last name Dunn. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Dunn immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 179,000 military records available for the last name Dunn. For the veterans among your Dunn ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Dunn military records

You've only scratched the surface of Dunn family history

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What is the average Dunn lifespan?

Between 1941 and 2004, in the United States, Dunn life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Dunn in 1941 was 43, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Dunn

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Dunn ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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