2000
#9,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,322
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Delay
A French occupational surname for a servant or messenger, derived from Old French "delaye" meaning "messenger."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,499 Americans carry the last name Delay. That puts it at #10,072 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,958 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Delay 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Delay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,958
Census rank
#10,072
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,051 bearers of the surname Delay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10072nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Delay, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Delay
The surname DELAY has its origins in France, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "delai," which means "to delay" or "to put off." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who was prone to procrastination or someone who habitually delayed tasks or responsibilities.
In the historical records, the name appears in various spellings, including "Delaie," "Delaye," and "Delayes." These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling conventions during that time period. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean Delaie, who was mentioned in a document from the city of Rouen in Normandy, France, dated around 1180.
The name DELAY is also linked to several place names in France, such as Delaye, a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, and Delaie, a hamlet in the Eure department. These place names may have contributed to the surname's origins, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on their place of residence or origin.
Several notable individuals have borne the DELAY surname throughout history. One such individual was Pierre Delay (1633-1707), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to New France (present-day Canada) in the 17th century. Another was Louis Delay (1879-1958), a French physician and neurologist who made significant contributions to the study of neurological disorders.
Other historical figures with the DELAY surname include:
1. Jacques Delay (1893-1964), a French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who co-authored the influential book "The Non-Psychotic Mental Disorders" with Pierre Deniker.
2. Joseph Delay (1717-1796), a French architect and engineer known for his work on the Château de Condé in Chantilly, France.
3. Pierre-Jean Delay (1761-1824), a French lawyer and politician who served as a deputy in the Corps législatif during the First French Empire.
4. Jérôme Delay (1734-1805), a French theologian and Catholic priest who wrote extensively on religious philosophy and theology.
5. Étienne Delay (1570-1636), a French engraver and printmaker active during the Baroque period, known for his portraits and allegorical works.
While the DELAY surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including other European countries, North America, and beyond, reflecting the migration patterns and histories of different families and communities over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delay
Among Census respondents with the surname Delay, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Delay 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 Delay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 2,620
- Black or African American5.9% · 179
- Two or more races4.1% · 125
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Delay
Delay 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
#9,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,616
+294 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Up 11 places
2020
#10,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,051
-565 bearers (-15.6%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 1,035 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,048 | 3,322 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,037 | 3,616 | 1.23 | +294 bearers (+8.9%) | Up 11 places |
| 2020 | #10,072 | 3,051 | 1.02 | -565 bearers (-15.6%) | Down 1,035 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 Delay 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 | #9,037 | #10,072 | -11.5% |
| Count | 3,616 | 3,051 | -15.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.23 | 1.02 | -17.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Delay bearers went from 3,616 to 3,051 (-15.6% change). The surname moved down 1,035 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,037 to #10,072.
FAQ
Delay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Delay?
Name Census estimates that about 3,499 living Americans carry the surname Delay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,958 residents.
How common is Delay?
Delay ranks #10,072 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,051 people with the surname Delay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Delay.
Has Delay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Delay went from 3,616 recorded bearers to 3,051. That is a decrease of 565 (-15.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,037 to #10,072.
What does the Census say about the background of Delay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Delay, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Delay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (2,620 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Delay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Delay (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 Delay mean?
A French occupational surname for a servant or messenger, derived from Old French "delaye" meaning "messenger." 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 Delay (1.02 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 Delay?
Want to know how many people have the surname Delay? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.