2000
#16,001
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,666
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Desroches
A surname of French origin meaning "of the rocks" or "from the rocks".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,157 Americans carry the last name Desroches. That puts it at #15,061 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,903 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Desroches 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 158,903
Census rank
#15,061
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,881 bearers of the surname Desroches in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15061st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Desroches, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Desroches
The surname Desroches originated in France. It dates back to the early 13th century and is derived from the Old French words "des roches" meaning "of the rocks". This suggests the name likely originated from a family that lived near a rocky area or a rocky landscape.
One of the earliest known records of the Desroches name is found in the historic Armorial général, a collection of coats of arms and heraldic devices from the reign of King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. The Armorial général includes entries for several Desroches families from different regions of France.
In the 14th century, there are records of a noble Desroches family from the Poitou region of western France. Pierre Desroches, a knight from this family, is mentioned in chronicles from the Hundred Years' War between England and France during the 1300s.
The Desroches surname is also found in several medieval manuscripts and documents from the Normandy region of northern France. A notable figure was Guillaume Desroches, a poet and trouvère (lyric poet) who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
In the 16th century, there was a renowned French jurist and legal scholar named Jean Desroches (1501-1582). He served as a judge and advocate in the Parlement of Paris, one of the highest courts in France at the time.
Another notable bearer of the Desroches name was François Desroches (1624-1686), a French architect and sculptor who worked on several important buildings and monuments in Paris during the reign of King Louis XIV.
During the 18th century, a Desroches family from the Anjou region of western France produced several notable figures, including Jean-Baptiste Desroches (1734-1811), a priest and botanist who studied the flora of the West Indies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desroches
Among Census respondents with the surname Desroches, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Desroches 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 Desroches surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 1,314
- Black or African American23.2% · 437
- Two or more races3.5% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Desroches
Desroches 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
#15,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,849
+183 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 238 places
2020
#15,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,881
+32 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 702 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,001 | 1,666 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,763 | 1,849 | 0.63 | +183 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 238 places |
| 2020 | #15,061 | 1,881 | 0.63 | +32 bearers (+1.7%) | Up 702 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 Desroches 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 | #15,763 | #15,061 | 4.5% |
| Count | 1,849 | 1,881 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.63 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Desroches bearers went from 1,849 to 1,881 (+1.7% change). The surname moved up 702 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,763 to #15,061.
FAQ
Desroches surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Desroches?
Name Census estimates that about 2,157 living Americans carry the surname Desroches. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,903 residents.
How common is Desroches?
Desroches ranks #15,061 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 1,881 people with the surname Desroches. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,157), 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 Desroches.
Has Desroches become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Desroches went from 1,849 recorded bearers to 1,881. That is an increase of 32 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,763 to #15,061.
What does the Census say about the background of Desroches?
Among Census respondents with the surname Desroches, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Desroches in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (1,314 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Desroches appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.9%), Black (23.2%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Desroches (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 Desroches mean?
A surname of French origin meaning "of the rocks" or "from the 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 Desroches (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 Americans have the surname Desroches?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.