2000
#25,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 896
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.33
Rare Last name
Depaula
A surname denoting someone from or near the city of Paula.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,152 Americans carry the last name Depaula. That puts it at #15,091 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Depaula 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
2.2K
1 in 159,272
Census rank
#15,091
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,877 bearers of the surname Depaula in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15091st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Depaula, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Depaula
The surname DEPAULA has its origins in Portugal. It is a locative surname, derived from the town of Paula in northern Portugal. The earliest recorded instances of this surname date back to the 13th century.
During the medieval period, it was common for people to take on surnames derived from the places they were born or lived. The prefix "de" in DEPAULA indicates "from" or "of" the place Paula. This practice helped distinguish individuals in an era when surnames were not yet widespread.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the DEPAULA surname was João Rodrigues de Paula, a Portuguese nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. Historical records from the time mention him as a landowner in the region around the town of Paula.
In the 15th century, the DEPAULA name appeared in documents related to the Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and the colonization of the Azores Islands. Álvaro de Paula, born around 1420, was one of the early settlers on the island of Terceira.
As the Portuguese empire expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, the DEPAULA surname spread to various colonies and territories, including Brazil, Africa, and parts of Asia. Fernão de Paula, born in 1535, was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage around the world.
In the 18th century, José de Paula Santos, born in 1720, was a renowned Brazilian architect and urban planner. He designed several notable buildings and public spaces in the city of Salvador, Brazil.
Another noteworthy individual with the DEPAULA surname was Maria de Paula Cabral, a Portuguese educator and women's rights advocate born in 1850. She founded one of the first schools for girls in Lisbon and campaigned for improved educational opportunities for women in Portugal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Depaula
Among Census respondents with the surname Depaula, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Depaula 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 Depaula surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.0% · 1,277
- Hispanic or Latino20.3% · 381
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 84
- Black or African American4.4% · 82
- Two or more races2.7% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Depaula
Depaula 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
#19,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,431
+535 bearers (+59.7%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Up 6,778 places
2020
#15,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,877
+446 bearers (+31.2%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 3,936 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,805 | 896 | 0.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,027 | 1,431 | 0.49 | +535 bearers (+59.7%) | Up 6,778 places |
| 2020 | #15,091 | 1,877 | 0.63 | +446 bearers (+31.2%) | Up 3,936 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 Depaula 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 | #19,027 | #15,091 | 20.7% |
| Count | 1,431 | 1,877 | 31.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.63 | 28.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Depaula bearers went from 1,431 to 1,877 (+31.2% change). The surname moved up 3,936 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,027 to #15,091.
FAQ
Depaula surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Depaula?
Name Census estimates that about 2,152 living Americans carry the surname Depaula. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,272 residents.
How common is Depaula?
Depaula ranks #15,091 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,877 people with the surname Depaula. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,152), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Depaula.
Has Depaula become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Depaula went from 1,431 recorded bearers to 1,877. That is an increase of 446 (+31.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,027 to #15,091.
What does the Census say about the background of Depaula?
Among Census respondents with the surname Depaula, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Depaula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.0% (1,277 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Depaula appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.0%), Hispanic (20.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Depaula (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 Depaula mean?
A surname denoting someone from or near the city of Paula. 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 Depaula (0.63 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 share the surname Depaula?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.