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

DeGroat, 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 DeGroat surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeGroat in America

DeGroat is the 11739th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeGroat surname appeared 2,669 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname DeGroat.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeGroat 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 DeGroat

The surname Degroat is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch words "de" meaning "the" and "groote" meaning "large" or "great." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone of tall stature or significant importance.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Dutch village of Grootebroek, located in the province of Noord-Holland. In a baptismal record from the year 1585, a child named Gerrit Degroat was listed, indicating the presence of the surname in this region during that time period.

Another early reference to the name appears in a legal document from the city of Amsterdam, dated 1612. This document mentions a merchant named Jan Degroat, who was involved in a trade dispute. This provides evidence that the name was also present in urban areas of the Netherlands during the 17th century.

As Dutch settlers began to migrate to other parts of the world, the surname Degroat traveled with them. One notable figure was Pieter Degroat, a sailor born in Rotterdam in 1678, who joined the Dutch East India Company and is recorded as having visited the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

In the 18th century, several Degroats can be found among the early Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam, which later became New York City. One such individual was Hendrik Degroat, born in 1725, who was a farmer and landowner in what is now Brooklyn.

During the American Revolutionary War, a man named Johannes Degroat served as a soldier in the Continental Army. He was born in 1749 in Dutchess County, New York, and fought in several key battles against the British forces.

As the name spread across Europe and North America, it underwent various spelling variations, including DeGroot, DeGroote, and DeGroate. One notable bearer of the name was the Dutch mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, whose original surname was Degroat before it was Latinized to Cartesius.

Other historical figures with the surname Degroat include Cornelius Degroat, a Dutch painter active in the 17th century, and Johanna Degroat, a renowned opera singer from Germany who performed in the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeGroat

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

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

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

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