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

Dease, 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 Dease surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dease in America

Dease is the 22707th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dease surname appeared 1,129 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 Dease.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dease 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 Dease

The surname DEASE originated from Ireland in the late 16th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name "O'Deis" or "Ua Deis", meaning "descendant of Deis". The name Deis itself is derived from the Irish word "deas", meaning "right-hand side" or "southern".

Records show that the DEASE family was initially based in County Kerry, particularly in the Dingle Peninsula area. Some of the earliest references to the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century.

In the late 16th century, during the Elizabethan era, the DEASE family was among the Gaelic Irish clans that were dispossessed of their lands. This led to the adoption of the Anglicized spelling "DEASE" as the family sought to adapt to English rule.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname DEASE was Maurice Dease, who was born in County Kerry around 1570. He was a prominent figure in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s and served as a commander in the Confederate Catholic forces.

Another notable figure was Peter Dease (1788-1863), an Irish-born explorer and fur trader who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. He is best known for his explorations of the Arctic regions, including his expeditions along the Mackenzie River and the discovery of Dease Strait.

In the 19th century, Sir Gerald Dease (1810-1887) was a prominent British Army officer and diplomat. He served as the British Consul-General in Morocco and played a significant role in negotiating treaties between the British Empire and the Moroccan government.

In the field of literature, there was Eleanor Dease (1833-1920), an Irish writer and poet. She published several collections of poetry and was considered a notable figure in the Irish literary scene of the late 19th century.

Lastly, one of the more recent notable individuals with the surname DEASE was Michael Dease (1920-1997), an Irish politician and member of the Fianna Fáil party. He served as a member of the Irish parliament (Dáil Éireann) for several terms, representing constituencies in County Kerry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dease

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

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

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

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