DeHart last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of DeHart

French occupational surname for a woodcutter or wood-clearer, derived from Old French "essart" meaning "clearing."

DeHart, 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 DeHart surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeHart in America

DeHart is the 3548th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeHart surname appeared 10,058 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname DeHart.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeHart 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 3548 3417 3.76%
Count 10,058 9,589 4.77%
Proportion per 100k 3.41 3.55 -4.02%

The history of the last name DeHart

The surname DEHART is of Dutch origin and can be traced back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "de" meaning "the" and "hart" meaning "stag" or "deer". This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a place frequented by deer or who was associated with hunting these animals.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Dutch records from the late 1500s, with variations in spelling such as DeHart, De Hart, and De Hert. These early records often referred to individuals from regions like Gelderland and North Brabant, where the name was particularly common.

One notable early reference to the DEHART name can be found in the Dutch East India Company archives, where a Cornelis DeHart is listed as a sailor in the year 1632. This provides evidence of the name's presence in the maritime trade during the Dutch Golden Age.

In the 17th century, members of the DEHART family began to migrate to the New World, with some of the earliest arrivals settling in what is now New York. A Pieter DeHart is recorded as having arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in 1653, while a Jacob DeHart is listed as a resident of Flatbush, Long Island in 1675.

Over the years, several notable individuals have carried the DEHART surname. These include:

  1. Reinier DeHart (1675-1742), a Dutch-American farmer and landowner in colonial New York.
  2. Johannes DeHart (1733-1811), a Patriot soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
  3. William DeHart (1801-1873), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey.
  4. Caleb DeHart (1821-1893), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
  5. Henry DeHart (1846-1924), a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur who founded the DeHart Broom Company in Ontario.

While the DEHART name has Dutch roots, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and intermarriage. However, its origins can be traced back to the Netherlands and the meaning associated with deer or stags.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeHart

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

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 DeHart was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.68% 9,020
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.13% 214
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.58% 58
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.10% 111
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.81% 182
Hispanic Origin 4.70% 473

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 DeHart has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.68% 94.34% -5.06%
Black 2.13% 1.88% 12.47%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.58% 0.34% 52.17%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.10% 0.71% 43.09%
Two or More Races 1.81% 1.41% 24.84%
Hispanic 4.70% 1.32% 112.29%

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

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

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"DeHart last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/dehart-surname-popularity/.

"DeHart last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/dehart-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 October, 2024

DeHart last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/dehart-surname-popularity/.

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