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

Debus, 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 Debus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Debus in America

Debus is the 31689th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Debus surname appeared 729 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 Debus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Debus 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 Debus

The surname DEBUS originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Low German word "debe," meaning "valley" or "depression." This suggests that the name likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived in or near a valley or depression in the landscape.

The earliest known record of the name DEBUS dates back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various medieval documents and records from the regions of Saxony and Lower Saxony in northern Germany. Some of the earliest recorded spellings include "Debuz," "Debe," and "Debusch."

In the 14th century, the name DEBUS was found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen in northern Germany. This suggests that the name was well-established in this region during that time period.

One notable historical figure with the surname DEBUS was Johann Debus, a German physician and alchemist who lived in the 16th century (1522-1599). He was known for his work in the field of iatrochemistry, which combined medicine and chemistry.

Another person of note was Johann Friedrich Debus (1692-1768), a German Baroque composer and organist who was active in the early 18th century. He is known for his compositions for organ and harpsichord.

In the 19th century, a prominent individual with the surname DEBUS was Heinrich Debus (1824-1915), a German-born chemist who immigrated to the United States and became a Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University. He made significant contributions to the study of organic chemistry and chemical analysis.

The surname DEBUS also has connections to various place names in Germany, such as Debus, a village in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Debusmühle, a former village in the state of Lower Saxony, which was named after a mill located in a valley or depression in the landscape.

Another notable figure with the surname DEBUS was Hans Debus (1907-1988), a German-born American aerospace engineer and rocket scientist. He played a significant role in the development of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program that landed humans on the Moon.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Debus

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!