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

Deka, 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 Deka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Deka in America

Deka is the 70833rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Deka surname appeared 276 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 Deka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Deka 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 Deka

The surname DEKA is of Greek origin, dating back to the Byzantine Empire era in the 11th century. It is believed to have originated from the island of Crete, where the name was derived from the Greek word "deka," meaning "ten." This could suggest that the name may have been given to a person who had ten children or was the tenth child in their family.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name DEKA can be found in a monastery record from the city of Heraklion, Crete, dated around 1150 CE. This document mentions a monk named Ioannis Deka, indicating the presence of the name in the region during that time period.

In the 14th century, the DEKA surname appears in several Venetian documents related to trade activities in the Aegean Sea region. These records mention merchants and ship captains with the surname, suggesting the name's spread beyond Crete.

During the Ottoman Empire's rule over Greece, the DEKA surname continued to be used, particularly in the regions of Crete and the Peloponnese peninsula. A notable figure from this period was Konstantinos Deka (1720-1795), a Greek merchant and landowner from the town of Monemvasia.

In the 19th century, as the Greek War of Independence unfolded, several individuals with the DEKA surname played significant roles. Among them were Georgios Deka (1790-1865), a military officer who fought in the Battle of Dervenakia, and Alexandros Deka (1815-1878), a politician and diplomat who served as the first Greek ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Another notable figure was Ioanna Deka (1855-1940), a pioneering educator and women's rights activist from the island of Cephalonia. She established one of the first schools for girls in Greece and advocated for women's education and suffrage.

As the DEKA surname spread throughout Greece and its diaspora communities, it has been associated with various professions and fields, from academics and artists to businesspeople and political figures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Deka

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

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

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