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

Decius, 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 Decius surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Decius in America

Decius is the 60045th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Decius surname appeared 336 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 Decius.

We can also compare 2010 data for Decius 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 Decius

The surname DECIUS originates from Ancient Rome, deriving from the Latin word "decius" meaning "tenth" or "tithe." It is believed to have initially been a cognomen, a Roman family name, or nickname given to those who were born as the tenth child.

During the Roman Republic and Empire, the DECIUS name was prominent among the Roman nobility. One of the most notable bearers was Gaius Messius Quintus Decius, who ruled as Roman Emperor from 249 to 251 AD. He was a successful military leader but faced challenges from the Gothic invasions and a severe plague outbreak during his reign.

The DECIUS name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The earliest recorded spelling is believed to be "Dece," found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1197.

In medieval times, the DECIUS surname was associated with various place names, such as Diss in Norfolk and Dyce in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The name may have derived from these locations or vice versa, as surnames often originated from places where families resided.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the DECIUS surname. One of the earliest was Phillip Decius (1454-1535), a German Protestant reformer and theologian who played a significant role in the Reformation movement.

Another prominent figure was Joannes Decius (1485-1544), a Dutch Renaissance humanist, poet, and historian. He served as the secretary to Pope Adrian VI and wrote extensively on classical literature and history.

In the 17th century, Christoph Decius (1624-1678) was a German composer and organist known for his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude, a genre of organ music based on Lutheran hymns.

During the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Decius (1721-1793) was a German philosopher and educator who influenced the Enlightenment movement with his writings on ethics and education.

More recently, in the 19th century, Philipp Decius (1809-1874) was a German architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings, including the Neues Museum in Berlin, which housed the Egyptian and Classical Antiquities collections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Decius

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Decius, 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!