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

Dearce, 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 Dearce surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dearce in America

Dearce is the 82613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dearce surname appeared 228 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 Dearce.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dearce 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 Dearce

The surname DEARCE is believed to have originated in England during the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning "deer" and "cerse" meaning "field or meadow." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a deer meadow or a field frequented by deer.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DEARCE can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a landowner named William Dearce. The name also appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Berkshire in 1221, referencing a Richard Dearce.

In the 13th century, the DEARCE surname was prominent in the county of Wiltshire, particularly in the village of Dearce, which may have been named after a family with the surname. This village is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled "Derecesfeld."

Notable individuals with the DEARCE surname include Sir John Dearce (1520-1589), a member of the English gentry and a landowner in Lincolnshire. Another was Thomas Dearce (1670-1738), a successful merchant and philanthropist from Bristol who endowed a school for underprivileged children.

In the 17th century, the DEARCE name was found in various spellings such as Dearcy, Dearsey, and Deerces. One example is Mary Dearcy (1612-1678), a Puritan writer and educator from Suffolk.

During the 18th century, the DEARCE surname spread across England, with pockets of families residing in counties like Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. A notable figure was William Dearce (1741-1817), a prominent landowner and magistrate in Dorset.

In the 19th century, several members of the DEARCE family migrated to other parts of the British Empire, including Australia and New Zealand. One such individual was James Dearce (1823-1897), a successful sheep farmer in New South Wales.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dearce

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

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 Dearce 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 Dearce 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 Dearce was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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