2000
#48,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 404
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Deboy
A surname derived from the French phrase "de Boy", meaning "from the woods".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 456 Americans carry the last name Deboy. That puts it at #55,632 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 751,654 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deboy 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
456
1 in 751,654
Census rank
#55,632
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
398
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 398 bearers of the surname Deboy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 55632nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deboy
The surname DEBOY originated in France, with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French words "de" and "bois," meaning "from the woods" or "from the forest." This suggests that the original bearers of this surname may have resided in or near a wooded area.
Early records indicate that the name was initially spelled in various ways, such as "de Bois," "Dubois," and "Debois," before eventually evolving into the modern spelling of "DEBOY." The name's evolution likely occurred due to regional dialects and scribal errors over time.
One of the earliest known references to the DEBOY surname can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Valenciennes, a historical record of citizens from the city of Valenciennes in northern France, which dates back to the 13th century.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the DEBOY surname include Jacques DEBOY, a French philosopher and theologian born in 1592, who played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation movement. Another prominent figure was Pierre DEBOY, a 17th-century French architect known for designing several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Roch.
In the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste DEBOY, a French composer and violinist, made significant contributions to the development of classical music. His works were widely performed across Europe during his lifetime (1670-1743).
Crossing over to North America, one of the earliest recorded instances of the DEBOY surname can be found in the records of French settlers in Quebec, Canada, where a man named Louis DEBOY was listed as a landowner in the late 17th century.
Another notable figure was Marie-Anne DEBOY, a French-Canadian businesswoman and landowner in the 18th century, who played a crucial role in the early economic development of Quebec City.
The DEBOY surname has been present throughout various regions of France and its former colonies for centuries, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions across various fields, including philosophy, architecture, music, and business.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deboy
Among Census respondents with the surname Deboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Deboy 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 Deboy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 374
- Two or more races2.3% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deboy
Deboy 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
#51,066
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 408
+4 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 2,103 places
2020
#55,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 398
-10 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 4,566 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #48,963 | 404 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #51,066 | 408 | 0.14 | +4 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 2,103 places |
| 2020 | #55,632 | 398 | 0.13 | -10 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 4,566 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 Deboy 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 | #51,066 | #55,632 | -8.9% |
| Count | 408 | 398 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.14 | 0.13 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deboy bearers went from 408 to 398 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 4,566 positions in the national ranking, going from #51,066 to #55,632.
FAQ
Deboy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deboy?
Name Census estimates that about 456 living Americans carry the surname Deboy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 751,654 residents.
How common is Deboy?
Deboy ranks #55,632 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 398 people with the surname Deboy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (456), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Deboy.
Has Deboy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deboy went from 408 recorded bearers to 398. That is a decrease of 10 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #51,066 to #55,632.
What does the Census say about the background of Deboy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Deboy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (374 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deboy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Deboy (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 Deboy mean?
A surname derived from the French phrase "de Boy", meaning "from the woods". 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 Deboy (0.13 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 Deboy?
You can see how common the surname Deboy is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.