2000
#11,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,434
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Desrochers
An occupational French surname referring to someone who cleared land or lived near a place cleared of rocks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,774 Americans carry the last name Desrochers. That puts it at #12,283 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,560 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Desrochers 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
2.8K
1 in 123,560
Census rank
#12,283
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,419 bearers of the surname Desrochers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12283rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Desrochers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Desrochers
The surname Desrochers originates from France and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French words "des" meaning "of the" and "rocher" meaning "rock" or "rocky terrain." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with rocks, such as a stonemason or someone living in a rocky area.
One of the earliest known records of the name can be found in the Cartulaire de Marmoutier, a medieval cartulary from the Marmoutier Abbey in Tours, France, dating back to the 11th century. This document mentions a person named "Robertus de Rocheriis" in 1095, which is a similar spelling to the modern Desrochers.
During the 13th century, the name appears in various forms in French records, such as "de Rochiers," "des Rochers," and "Desrochers." These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and scribal differences in spelling.
One notable individual bearing the Desrochers name was Jean Desrochers, a French poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Normandy around 1520 and is known for his collection of poems titled "Les Amours pastorales" (The Pastoral Loves), published in 1585.
In the 17th century, the name appears in several church records from the Normandy region of France. For example, the marriage of Pierre Desrochers and Marie Leclerc was recorded in the parish register of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives in 1662.
Another noteworthy figure was Jacques Desrochers, a French-Canadian explorer and fur trader who was born in Quebec City in 1675. He was one of the first European settlers to venture into the western regions of what is now Canada, establishing trading posts and making contact with various Indigenous tribes.
During the 18th century, the Desrochers name began to spread beyond France as French settlers emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly to North America. One such individual was Jean-Baptiste Desrochers, a French soldier and colonist who was born in 1720 and settled in what is now Louisiana, United States.
In the 19th century, the name appeared in various parts of Europe and North America. For instance, Louis-Philippe Desrochers was a prominent Quebec lawyer and politician who was born in 1836 and served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1872.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desrochers
Among Census respondents with the surname Desrochers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Desrochers 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 Desrochers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,211
- Two or more races3.6% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- Black or African American0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Desrochers
Desrochers 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
#12,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,516
+82 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 569 places
2020
#12,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,419
-97 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,788 | 2,434 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,357 | 2,516 | 0.85 | +82 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 569 places |
| 2020 | #12,283 | 2,419 | 0.81 | -97 bearers (-3.9%) | Up 74 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 Desrochers 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 | #12,357 | #12,283 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,516 | 2,419 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.81 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Desrochers bearers went from 2,516 to 2,419 (-3.9% change). The surname moved up 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,357 to #12,283.
FAQ
Desrochers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Desrochers?
Name Census estimates that about 2,774 living Americans carry the surname Desrochers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,560 residents.
How common is Desrochers?
Desrochers ranks #12,283 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,419 people with the surname Desrochers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,774), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Desrochers.
Has Desrochers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Desrochers went from 2,516 recorded bearers to 2,419. That is a decrease of 97 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,357 to #12,283.
What does the Census say about the background of Desrochers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Desrochers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Desrochers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,211 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Desrochers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Desrochers (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 Desrochers mean?
An occupational French surname referring to someone who cleared land or lived near a place cleared of rocks. 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 Desrochers (0.81 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 Desrochers?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.