Find out how popular the last name Dacey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dacey.

Dacey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dacey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dacey in America

Dacey is the 20468th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dacey surname appeared 1,297 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dacey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dacey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dacey

The surname Dacey has its origins in Wales, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh personal name Dai or Dafydd, which is the Welsh form of the name David. Dai is a pet name or hypocoristic form of Dafydd, and the patronymic suffix "-ey" was added to form the surname Dacey, meaning "son of Dai."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dacey surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Pembrokeshire, Wales, from the 13th century. These rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, and they contain entries of individuals bearing the name Dacey, though with slightly different spellings such as Daycy or Dacy.

During the Middle Ages, the Dacey family was notably present in the Welsh counties of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The surname is also associated with various place names in these regions, such as Dacey's Farm near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire.

In the 16th century, the Dacey surname appears in various records, including the Muster Rolls of Pembrokeshire from 1543, where the names Richard Dacey and Thomas Dacey are listed. Another notable figure from this time period is William Dacey, a Welsh clergyman born in Pembrokeshire in the early 1500s.

As the centuries progressed, the Dacey surname spread beyond Wales, with some notable individuals bearing the name. One example is John Dacey (1799-1866), an Irish-born American Catholic priest who served as the first Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina.

Another prominent figure was Sir Norman Dacey (1901-1981), an American lawyer and author who gained recognition for his book "How to Avoid Probate," which criticized the legal system surrounding inheritance and estate planning.

In the 19th century, the Dacey surname can be found in various records from the United States, including the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, where individuals with the surname Dacey are listed in states such as New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Throughout history, the Dacey surname has maintained its roots in Wales, while also spreading across different regions due to migration and other historical events. Despite variations in spelling, the name continues to carry its patronymic meaning, tracing back to the Welsh personal name Dai or Dafydd.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dacey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dacey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dacey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dacey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dacey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dacey, please contact us.

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