2000
#9,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,237
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Deacon
An occupational surname referring to a church official or servant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,812 Americans carry the last name Deacon. That puts it at #9,388 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,915 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deacon surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Deacon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 89,915
Census rank
#9,388
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,324 bearers of the surname Deacon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9388th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacon, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deacon
The surname Deacon has its origins primarily in England, where it first arose in the late 12th century. It is an occupational surname derived from the Old English "deacon," meaning a deacon or minister of the Christian church. The name would have been given to those who served in this religious role.
In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled "Deakyn" or "Deken." It comes from the Greek word "diakonos," meaning a servant or minister. This was adopted into Late Latin as "diaconus" and then into Old English as "deacon." Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include Walter le Deken in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1191, and Hugo le Deken in the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1210.
The Deacon surname can be found in various medieval records, such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list a Walter le Dekene in Oxfordshire. It also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, with a John le Dekene listed as a taxpayer. These early records demonstrate the name's widespread use across different regions of England during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Thomas Deacon, who was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, around 1300. Another notable early figure was John Deacon, a 14th-century English cleric and theologian born in the village of Deacon's Green in Buckinghamshire.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the likes of Thomas Deacon (1528-1607), an English clergyman and academic who served as the headmaster of Merchant Taylors' School in London. Another significant individual was John Deacon (1608-1662), an English vicar and writer who published several religious works.
As the name spread across England, it also took on various locational variations, such as Deakin, Deakyn, and Deaking, derived from place names like Deacon's Green and Deacon Hill. Additionally, the surname appeared in Scotland, where it was sometimes rendered as Deakin or Dickon.
Throughout history, the Deacon surname has been associated with several notable individuals, including:
1. Thomas Deacon (1697-1753), an English non-conformist minister and theologian.
2. James Deacon (1737-1783), an English engraver and portrait painter.
3. William Deacon (1799-1845), an English civil engineer and pioneer in the construction of early railways.
4. Sir Thomas Deacon (1854-1941), an Australian businessman and philanthropist.
5. Arthur Deacon (1880-1959), an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire and England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deacon
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacon, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Deacon bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Deacon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 2,776
- Black or African American5.6% · 185
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 123
- Two or more races3.6% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deacon
Deacon appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,322
+85 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 493 places
2020
#9,388
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,324
+2 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Up 368 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,263 | 3,237 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,756 | 3,322 | 1.13 | +85 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 493 places |
| 2020 | #9,388 | 3,324 | 1.11 | +2 bearers (+0.1%) | Up 368 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Deacon surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,756 | #9,388 | 3.8% |
| Count | 3,322 | 3,324 | 0.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.11 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deacon bearers went from 3,322 to 3,324 (+0.1% change). The surname moved up 368 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,756 to #9,388.
FAQ
Deacon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deacon?
Name Census estimates that about 3,812 living Americans carry the surname Deacon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,915 residents.
How common is Deacon?
Deacon ranks #9,388 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,324 people with the surname Deacon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,812), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Deacon.
Has Deacon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deacon went from 3,322 recorded bearers to 3,324. That is an increase of 2 (+0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,756 to #9,388.
What does the Census say about the background of Deacon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacon, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Deacon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (2,776 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deacon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (5.6%), Hispanic (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Deacon (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Deacon mean?
An occupational surname referring to a church official or servant. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Deacon (1.11 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Deacon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.