The Dull surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,818 people carried this name — #6,961 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 61,300 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (4,798).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dull surname

A surname. of Scottish and German origin.

As a German surname, from dialectal tull (“stout, corpulent”) (see the adjective doll), or a variant of Thiel.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dull» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Poland’s population register

80 people named Dull have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 115 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Greater Poland 25
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 19
Łódź 14
Masovian 13
Subcarpathian 9

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 families named Dull, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 159 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 15
Maryland 5
Virginia 4
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Dull in American newspapers,
1881–1924.

Newspaper page from Harrisburg Telegraph carrying the name Dull
Harrisburg Telegraph 1914-04-09
Newspaper page from The Cambria Freeman carrying the name Dull
The Cambria Freeman 1881-09-09
Newspaper page from Crestline Advocate carrying the name Dull
Crestline Advocate 1924-04-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,571 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dull in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

7,868 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dull. The most, 1,225, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,863
New South Wales 2,451
Queensland 1,559
Tasmania 369
South Australia 354
Western Australia 240
ACT (Canberra) 18
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dull.

Who carried it

People named Dull,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dientje Dull 1854–1941 · women's rights activist
  • John J. Dull 1859–1949 · architect
  • Henrietta Stanley Dull 1863–1964 · writer
  • Raymond W. Dull 1874–1948
  • Charles E. Dull 1878–1947 · secondary school teacher
  • Gayle Dull 1883–1918 · long-distance runner

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dull,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States428 records

428 records of the Dull name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 171
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 77
  • Other U.S. records 180
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Theron L. Dull

    Born 1919 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Perry Lacarne, Ohio; machine shop worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Ray Cemetery, Decatur, Indiana.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Barbara Dull

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the President Smidt from Bremen, aged 26; manservant. From Ostheim, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edward James Dull

    Born 1947; from Taunton, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 428 records for Dull in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands373 records

373 records of the Dull name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 240
  • Dutch population registers 119
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 14
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anthonij August Dull

    Married in 1920 in Groningen; planter. Died 1965 in Apeldoorn, aged 77.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Henriëtte Dull

    Married in 1946 in Driebergen-Rijsenburg. Died 1962 in Utrecht, aged 46.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bernard Marie Dull

    Born 1893 in Nijmegen. Died 1964 in Arnhem, aged 71.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 373 records for Dull in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany138 records

138 records of the Dull name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 134
  • German applications to settle and marry 4
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Paul Düll

    Born 1892; from Sommerhausen. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 3 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barbara Düll

    Named in an application to settle and marry at Donnersdorf in 1853.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Staatsarchiv Würzburg (CC0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Karl Düll

    Named in an application to settle and marry at Bimbach in 1852.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Staatsarchiv Würzburg (CC0)

Showing 3 of 138 records for Dull in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia17 records

17 records of the Dull name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 11
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Hugh Dull

    Left Launceston in 1853 aboard the Mermaid, bound for Melbourne, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Edwin Dull

    Sailed from Victoria in 1856 aboard the Havilah, bound for Adelaide, aged 12.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Philipp Dull

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1889.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Dull in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Dull name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Andrew Dull

    Buried in 1973 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Carl Lewis Dull

    Married 1945 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Dull name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Margarete Dull

    Born 1911 in Germany; died 2001 in Figeac (Lot).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dull.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dull is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Dull volume
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