2000
#555
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,450
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.18
Uncommon Last name
Decker
An occupational surname referring to a person who built or thatched roofs or worked as a roofer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 63,070 Americans carry the last name Decker. That puts it at #597 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,435 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Decker 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Decker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
63K
1 in 5,435
Census rank
#597
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
55K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 55,000 bearers of the surname Decker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 597th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Decker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Decker
The surname Decker originates from Germany and the Netherlands, and has been in use since at least the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "dekker," meaning "roofer" or "thatcher." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a roofer or thatcher by trade.
In medieval times, surnames often derived from occupations, and the name Decker would have identified a person who worked in the construction or repair of roofs. As families began to adopt hereditary surnames, the name Decker became established in regions where German and Dutch were spoken.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Decker can be found in the Stadtbücher (town books) of Cologne, Germany, from the year 1292, where a certain "Henrich Dekker" is mentioned. The name also appears in various other historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries in towns and cities across Germany and the Low Countries.
In the Netherlands, the name Decker is sometimes spelled as "Dekker," and there are several notable individuals with this spelling throughout history. One of the earliest is the 16th-century humanist and scholar Dirck Volkertszoon Coornhert (1522-1590), who was also known as "Theodoor Decker."
Another famous bearer of the name was the Dutch Golden Age painter Cornelis Decker (1610-1678), known for his genre scenes and portraits. In the literary world, the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), who wrote under the pen name "Multatuli," is considered one of the most important figures in Dutch literature.
In Germany, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Decker was Hans Decker (c. 1500-1570), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony. Later, there was the German astronomer Johann Decker (1625-1686), who made significant contributions to the study of comets and the calculation of planetary orbits.
The surname Decker has also been present in other parts of Europe, including England, where it likely arrived with Dutch or German immigrants. One notable English bearer of the name was Sir Matthew Decker (1679-1749), a merchant and writer who published several influential works on trade and economics.
Throughout its history, the surname Decker has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from skilled tradesmen and artisans to scholars, writers, and scientists. While its origins can be traced back to a humble occupation, the name has become widely dispersed and has acquired a rich tapestry of meanings and associations over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Decker
Among Census respondents with the surname Decker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Decker 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 Decker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 50,056
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,904
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,874
- Black or African American0.9% · 519
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 356
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 291
Timeline
Historical Census data for Decker
Decker 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
#597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,576
+2,126 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 19.18
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,000
-1,576 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 18.40
Rank movement No rank change
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #555 | 54,450 | 20.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #597 | 56,576 | 19.18 | +2,126 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #597 | 55,000 | 18.40 | -1,576 bearers (-2.8%) | No rank change |
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 Decker 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 | #597 | #597 | 0.0% |
| Count | 56,576 | 55,000 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 19.18 | 18.40 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Decker bearers went from 56,576 to 55,000 (-2.8% change). The surname held its position in the national ranking, remaining at #597.
FAQ
Decker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Decker?
Name Census estimates that about 63,070 living Americans carry the surname Decker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,435 residents.
How common is Decker?
Decker ranks #597 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 55,000 people with the surname Decker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (63,070), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Decker.
Has Decker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Decker went from 56,576 recorded bearers to 55,000. That is a decrease of 1,576 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it stayed at #597.
What does the Census say about the background of Decker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Decker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Decker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (50,056 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Decker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Decker (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 Decker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who built or thatched roofs or worked as a roofer. 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 Decker (18.40 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 Americans have the surname Decker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.