2000
#13,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Delancey
From the French place name "de Lancy," indicating someone from Lancy, Normandy, France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,554 Americans carry the last name Delancey. That puts it at #13,160 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,203 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Delancey 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
2.6K
1 in 134,203
Census rank
#13,160
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,227 bearers of the surname Delancey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13160th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Delancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Delancey
The surname Delancey originated in France, dating back to the 17th century. It is derived from the Old French words "de" meaning "of" and "lancey," which refers to a small village or hamlet. The name likely originated from a place called Lancey or a similar name, indicating that the first bearers of this surname hailed from a specific location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Delancey surname can be found in the records of the French Protestant Huguenot refugees who fled to England and the American colonies in the late 17th century to escape religious persecution. Among these refugees was Etienne Delancey, who settled in New York in the early 1700s and became a prominent merchant and landowner.
In England, the Delancey name appears in historical records from the late 17th century onward. One notable figure was Oliver Delancey (1679-1718), an English soldier and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Malmesbury in Wiltshire.
The Delancey family played a significant role in the history of colonial America. James Delancey (1703-1760), the son of Etienne Delancey, was a prominent figure in New York politics and served as the acting colonial governor of New York from 1753 to 1755. His brother, Oliver Delancey (1707-1785), was a wealthy merchant and landowner in New York City.
Another notable individual with the Delancey surname was Sir William Delancey (1835-1914), a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Victoria, Australia, from 1889 to 1892.
The Delancey surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Delancey Street in New York City, which was named after the influential Delancey family in colonial times. Additionally, there is a town called Delancey in Cambridgeshire, England, which may have contributed to the surname's origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delancey
Among Census respondents with the surname Delancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Delancey 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 Delancey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.5% · 1,949
- Black or African American5.7% · 128
- Two or more races3.2% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Delancey
Delancey 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
#13,597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,229
+98 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 444 places
2020
#13,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,227
-2 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 437 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,153 | 2,131 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,597 | 2,229 | 0.76 | +98 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 444 places |
| 2020 | #13,160 | 2,227 | 0.75 | -2 bearers (-0.1%) | Up 437 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 Delancey 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 | #13,597 | #13,160 | 3.2% |
| Count | 2,229 | 2,227 | -0.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.75 | -2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Delancey bearers went from 2,229 to 2,227 (-0.1% change). The surname moved up 437 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,597 to #13,160.
FAQ
Delancey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Delancey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,554 living Americans carry the surname Delancey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,203 residents.
How common is Delancey?
Delancey ranks #13,160 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,227 people with the surname Delancey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,554), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Delancey.
Has Delancey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Delancey went from 2,229 recorded bearers to 2,227. That is a decrease of 2 (-0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,597 to #13,160.
What does the Census say about the background of Delancey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Delancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Delancey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (1,949 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Delancey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.5%), Black (5.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Delancey (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 Delancey mean?
From the French place name "de Lancy," indicating someone from Lancy, Normandy, France. 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 Delancey (0.75 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 last name Delancey?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Delancey at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.