2000
#7,587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,041
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.50
Rare Last name
Debord
A French occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a ford or stream crossing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,425 Americans carry the last name Debord. That puts it at #8,217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Debord 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
4.4K
1 in 77,459
Census rank
#8,217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,859 bearers of the surname Debord in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Debord, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Debord
The surname DEBORD has its origins in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "deborder," which means "to overflow" or "to go beyond the limits." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a river or stream that frequently flooded its banks.
The earliest recorded instances of the name DEBORD can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Normandy, France. One of the first known bearers of this surname was Guillaume Debord, a landowner mentioned in a charter dated 1237. Another early reference to the name appears in the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen, a registry of citizens in the city of Rouen, where a certain Jehan Debord is listed in 1292.
During the 14th century, the name DEBORD spread to other parts of France, including the Île-de-France region around Paris. In 1364, a document from the Abbey of Saint-Denis mentions a woman named Marguerite Debord, who was a resident of the nearby village of Montrouge.
The DEBORD surname has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Guy Debord, a renowned French Marxist theorist and founding member of the Situationist International movement. He was born in 1931 and died in 1994.
Another prominent figure with the surname DEBORD was Jacques Debord, a French painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century. He is known for his detailed etchings depicting scenes from ancient Roman history and mythology.
In the 18th century, François Debord was a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice and the École Militaire.
Moving into the 19th century, Adolphe Debord was a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a general in the French Army.
Finally, in the 20th century, there was Pierre Debord, a French journalist and author who wrote extensively on topics related to World War II and the French Resistance movement.
While the DEBORD surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and migration patterns. However, the earliest recorded examples and historical references to this name can be traced back to its origins in medieval France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debord
Among Census respondents with the surname Debord, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Debord 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 Debord surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 3,496
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 154
- Two or more races3.3% · 126
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 35
- Black or African American0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Debord
Debord 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
#8,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,100
+59 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 500 places
2020
#8,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,859
-241 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,587 | 4,041 | 1.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,087 | 4,100 | 1.39 | +59 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 500 places |
| 2020 | #8,217 | 3,859 | 1.29 | -241 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 130 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 Debord 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 | #8,087 | #8,217 | -1.6% |
| Count | 4,100 | 3,859 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.29 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Debord bearers went from 4,100 to 3,859 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 130 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,087 to #8,217.
FAQ
Debord surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Debord?
Name Census estimates that about 4,425 living Americans carry the surname Debord. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,459 residents.
How common is Debord?
Debord ranks #8,217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,859 people with the surname Debord. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,425), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Debord.
Has Debord become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Debord went from 4,100 recorded bearers to 3,859. That is a decrease of 241 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,087 to #8,217.
What does the Census say about the background of Debord?
Among Census respondents with the surname Debord, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Debord in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (3,496 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Debord appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Debord (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 Debord mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a ford or stream crossing. 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 Debord (1.29 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 surname Debord?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.