2010
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dehesa
A surname denoting someone from a dehesa, an enclosed area of Mediterranean scrubland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Dehesa. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dehesa 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.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Dehesa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehesa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and White (8.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dehesa
The surname DEHESA originated in Spain. It is a locational name derived from the Spanish word "dehesa" which means a pasture or grazing land. It likely referred to someone who lived near or owned such lands.
The earliest recorded examples of the DEHESA surname date back to the late 15th century in areas around Sevilla and Cadiz in southern Spain. In 1492, records show a Juan de la Dehesa from Sevilla province.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name spread to other parts of Spain as well as Spanish colonies in the Americas. Diego de la Dehesa was born around 1525 in Cadiz and went on to become a renowned navigator and explorer for the Spanish Crown.
The Dehesa name appeared in various old manuscripts and records over the centuries, sometimes spelled slightly differently like Deesa or De Hessa. An Alonso de la Dehesa is mentioned in a 1612 document from Salamanca.
Notable people with the DEHESA surname include Gaspar de la Dehesa (1566-1632), a Spanish Catholic priest and writer from Granada. José de la Dehesa (1806-1876) was a Mexican politician who served as governor of Oaxaca state.
Juan Carlos Dehesa (born 1944) is a Spanish economist and former government minister. Rafael Dehesa (born 1976) is a Mexican historian and academic currently based at the University of California, Berkeley.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dehesa
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehesa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and White (8.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dehesa 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 Dehesa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino69.3% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.3% · 14
- White8.8% · 10
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dehesa
Dehesa appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 6,338 places |
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 Dehesa 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 | #140,157 | #146,495 | -4.5% |
| Count | 119 | 114 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dehesa bearers went from 119 to 114 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 6,338 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #146,495.
FAQ
Dehesa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dehesa?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Dehesa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Dehesa?
Dehesa ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Dehesa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dehesa.
Has Dehesa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dehesa went from 119 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Dehesa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dehesa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and White (8.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dehesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.3% (79 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dehesa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (69.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%), White (8.8%). 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 Dehesa (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 Dehesa mean?
A surname denoting someone from a dehesa, an enclosed area of Mediterranean scrubland. 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 Dehesa (0.04 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 people have the surname Dehesa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.