2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Deacons
A surname derived from the religious office of deacon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Deacons. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deacons 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.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Deacons in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacons, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deacons
The surname Deacons is of English origin, derived from the occupation of a deacon in the Christian church. The name can be traced back to the late 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded examples being Robertus Decanus, found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195.
The name is believed to have originated from the Old English word "decan" or "decanus," meaning a deacon or church official. Deacons were responsible for various duties within the church, including assisting priests during religious services, managing church property, and caring for the poor.
In medieval times, the name Deacons was often anglicized from its Latin form "Diaconus" or "Diacanus." This spelling variation can be found in ancient records, such as the Domesday Book of 1086, where the name Diacanus is recorded as a landowner in Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Deacons was John Deakyn, who was listed as a resident of Yorkshire in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. The name also appeared in various parts of England, including Staffordshire, where a William Dekyns was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327.
Notable individuals with the surname Deacons throughout history include:
1. Sir Thomas Deacons (1572-1634), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1628.
2. John Deacons (1637-1720), an English nonconformist minister and author of several religious works.
3. William Deacons (1778-1857), a British architect known for his work on several churches and public buildings in London.
4. Henry Deacons (1822-1899), a British engineer and inventor who patented various improvements to steam engines and railway equipment.
5. Erasmus Deacons (1808-1880), an English clergyman and author who wrote extensively on religious topics and historical subjects.
The surname Deacons has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Deacons Green in Hertfordshire and Deacons Farm in Essex. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname who owned or resided in these locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deacons
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacons, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Deacons 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 Deacons surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 105
- Black or African American3.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deacons
Deacons 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,467 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 2,467 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,361 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 Deacons 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 | #138,304 | #148,665 | -7.5% |
| Count | 121 | 111 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deacons bearers went from 121 to 111 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,361 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #148,665.
FAQ
Deacons surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deacons?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Deacons. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Deacons?
Deacons ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Deacons. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Deacons.
Has Deacons become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deacons went from 121 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Deacons?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deacons, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Deacons in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deacons appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Black (3.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Deacons (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 Deacons mean?
A surname derived from the religious office of deacon. 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 Deacons (0.04 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 are called Deacons?
See how many Americans have the surname Deacons on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.