2000
#63,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 293
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Delafosse
A French surname referring to someone living by a moat or ditch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 374 Americans carry the last name Delafosse. That puts it at #65,688 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 916,455 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Delafosse 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
374
1 in 916,455
Census rank
#65,688
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
326
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 326 bearers of the surname Delafosse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 65688th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Delafosse, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Hispanic (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Delafosse
The surname DELAFOSSE originated in France and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from a place name referring to someone who lived near a ditch or moat (from the Old French words "de la" meaning "of the" and "fosse" meaning "ditch" or "moat"). The name was likely first adopted by someone living near such a geographical feature.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname DELAFOSSE can be found in records from the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Picardy, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Similar spellings such as de la Fosse, Delafoce, and Delafousse were also used in these early records.
One of the earliest known references to the surname DELAFOSSE is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests that individuals bearing this surname may have been among the Norman settlers who accompanied William the Conqueror to England.
Notable individuals with the surname DELAFOSSE throughout history include:
1. Pierre Delafosse (c. 1610-1676), a French painter and engraver known for his religious and mythological works.
2. Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1789), a French architect and architectural theorist who designed several notable buildings in Paris.
3. Gabriel Delafosse (1796-1878), a French explorer and diplomat who served as the French consul in various regions of Africa and published accounts of his travels.
4. Jules Delafosse (1841-1901), a French playwright and novelist known for his works depicting Parisian life.
5. Maurice Delafosse (1870-1926), a French colonial administrator and ethnologist who made significant contributions to the study of West African cultures and languages.
In addition to these individuals, the surname DELAFOSSE was also associated with various place names in France, such as Delafosse-en-Brie and Delafosse-sur-Marne, which likely derived their names from the geographical features or locations where the surname originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delafosse
Among Census respondents with the surname Delafosse, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Hispanic (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Delafosse 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 Delafosse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.7% · 185
- Black or African American32.8% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 22
- Two or more races3.1% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Delafosse
Delafosse 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
#67,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 291
-2 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 4,115 places
2020
#65,688
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 326
+35 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 2,059 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #63,632 | 293 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #67,747 | 291 | 0.10 | -2 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 4,115 places |
| 2020 | #65,688 | 326 | 0.11 | +35 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 2,059 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 Delafosse 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 | #67,747 | #65,688 | 3.0% |
| Count | 291 | 326 | 12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.11 | 9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Delafosse bearers went from 291 to 326 (+12.0% change). The surname moved up 2,059 positions in the national ranking, going from #67,747 to #65,688.
FAQ
Delafosse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Delafosse?
Name Census estimates that about 374 living Americans carry the surname Delafosse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 916,455 residents.
How common is Delafosse?
Delafosse ranks #65,688 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 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 326 people with the surname Delafosse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (374), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 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 Delafosse.
Has Delafosse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Delafosse went from 291 recorded bearers to 326. That is an increase of 35 (+12.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #67,747 to #65,688.
What does the Census say about the background of Delafosse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Delafosse, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Delafosse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.7% (185 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Delafosse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.7%), Black (32.8%), Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Delafosse (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 Delafosse mean?
A French surname referring to someone living by a moat or ditch. 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 Delafosse (0.11 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 Delafosse?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.