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

Desprez, 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 Desprez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Desprez in America

Desprez is the 154907th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Desprez surname appeared 105 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 Desprez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Desprez 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.

The history of the last name Desprez

The surname Desprez originated in France in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French words "des pres" meaning "from the meadows" or "of the meadows." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near or owned meadowland.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval French records and manuscripts from the 1200s and 1300s. It appeared in various spellings such as Desprez, Des Prez, and Deprez. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of this name include Joselin Desprez, a landowner mentioned in a charter from 1265 in Normandy.

The Desprez surname is also linked to several place names in France, such as Després in Normandy and Desprez in Picardy. These places may have been the original homelands of families who took on the name.

One notable bearer of the Desprez name was Josquin Desprez, a renowned Renaissance composer born around 1450 in present-day Belgium. He served as a singer and composer for several European courts and is considered one of the greatest composers of the 15th century.

Another influential figure was Philippe Desprez, a 16th-century French architect and engineer who worked on the construction of the Château de Fontainebleau for King Francis I.

In the 17th century, Jacques Desprez (1625-1701) was a French lawyer and writer who served as the King's Advocate at the Châtelet court in Paris.

Later, Louis Desprez (1743-1804) was a French architect and engraver who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule.

Jean-Baptiste Desprez (1752-1832) was a French architect and urban planner who worked on the development of the Champs-Élysées and the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Throughout its history, the Desprez surname has been borne by many notable individuals, primarily in France, but also in other parts of Europe and beyond, reflecting the spread of the name over centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Desprez

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

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 Desprez was:

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

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

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

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