Derue last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Derue

A French locational surname referring to someone who lived by a street or alley.

Derue, 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 Derue surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Derue in America

Derue is the 74608th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Derue surname appeared 259 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 Derue.

We can also compare 2010 data for Derue 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 74608 72717 2.57%
Count 259 249 3.94%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.09 0.00%

The history of the last name Derue

The surname DERUE is of French origin, and can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It is derived from the Old French word "rue," meaning "street" or "lane," and was likely originally given as a descriptive name to someone who lived near a prominent street or pathway.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DERUE appears in the Dives-sur-Mer cartulary, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that records the names of various landowners and tenants in the Normandy region. This document includes references to individuals with the surname DERUE, as well as variations like "de la Rue" and "de Rue."

During the 13th century, the name DERUE began to appear in historical records across northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy. Some notable individuals from this time period include Guillaume DERUE, a merchant from Rouen who is mentioned in a charter from 1265, and Jehan DERUE, a landowner in Brittany whose name appears in the rolls of the Exchequer of Normandy in 1298.

In the 14th century, the DERUE name continued to spread across France, and can be found in various documents such as tax rolls, court records, and parish registers. One noteworthy figure from this period is Étienne DERUE, a landowner and knight from Normandy who participated in the Hundred Years' War and is mentioned in the chronicles of Jean Froissart.

As the centuries progressed, the DERUE surname became more widely dispersed throughout France and beyond. In the 16th century, Jean DERUE (1520-1589) was a prominent French sculptor and architect who worked on several notable projects, including the Château de Chambord and the Château d'Anet.

Another significant figure bearing the DERUE name was Claude DERUE (1619-1691), a French mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and served as the Royal Astronomer under King Louis XIV.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the DERUE surname continued to appear in various historical records across Europe, with individuals bearing this name engaging in a wide range of professions and occupations, from merchants and artisans to soldiers and clergy members.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Derue

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

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 Derue was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.98% 246
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.32% 6
Hispanic Origin 1.93% 5

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 Derue has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.98% 97.19% -2.30%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.32% 0.00% 200.00%
Hispanic 1.93% (S)% (S)%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Derue, please contact us.

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"Derue last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 9, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/derue-surname-popularity/.

"Derue last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/derue-surname-popularity/. Accessed 9 July, 2025

Derue last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/derue-surname-popularity/.

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