2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Debelle
A French surname derived from the French word "belle" meaning beautiful.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Debelle. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Debelle 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Debelle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Debelle, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Debelle
The surname DEBELLE has its origins in France, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French term "de belle," which translates to "of beauty" or "beautiful." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname or a locational name associated with a place considered beautiful.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the DEBELLE name can be found in the parish records of Saint-Malo, a coastal town in Brittany, France, where a certain Jean DEBELLE was born in 1587. The name also appears in various historical documents from the 17th and 18th centuries in the regions of Normandy and Picardy.
During the 17th century, a prominent figure bearing the DEBELLE surname was Jacques DEBELLE, a French playwright and poet born in Rouen in 1623. He is best known for his tragedies and comedies performed at the famous Théâtre du Marais in Paris.
In the late 18th century, a notable DEBELLE was Marie-Antoinette DEBELLE, born in 1765 in Versailles. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette and survived the French Revolution, later publishing her memoirs detailing her experiences at the court of Versailles.
The 19th century saw the birth of Louis DEBELLE, a French explorer and naturalist, in 1822 in Lyon. He is renowned for his expeditions to South America, where he documented numerous plant and animal species previously unknown to science.
Another significant figure with the DEBELLE surname was Émile DEBELLE, a French architect born in 1853 in Paris. He was responsible for the design and construction of several iconic buildings in the city, including the Petit Palais and the Palais de la Découverte.
In the early 20th century, Marguerite DEBELLE, born in 1905 in Marseille, gained recognition as a pioneering female journalist and writer. Her works shed light on the struggles and accomplishments of women during that era.
While the DEBELLE name has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and intermarriage. However, the earliest and most notable records of this surname can be traced back to its French origins, where it has left an indelible mark on history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debelle
Among Census respondents with the surname Debelle, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Debelle 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 Debelle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 10
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Debelle
Debelle appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 3,162 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 Debelle 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 | #158,432 | #155,270 | 2.0% |
| Count | 102 | 101 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Debelle bearers went from 102 to 101 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #155,270.
FAQ
Debelle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Debelle?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Debelle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Debelle?
Debelle ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Debelle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Debelle.
Has Debelle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Debelle went from 102 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Debelle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Debelle, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Debelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Debelle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.1%), Hispanic (9.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Debelle (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 Debelle mean?
A French surname derived from the French word "belle" meaning beautiful. 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 Debelle (0.03 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 have the last name Debelle?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Debelle at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.