2000
#13,771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,017
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Devaughn
A Norman French surname derived from the given name Vaughan, meaning "little" or "small."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,334 Americans carry the last name Devaughn. That puts it at #14,165 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Devaughn 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
2.3K
1 in 146,853
Census rank
#14,165
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,035 bearers of the surname Devaughn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14165th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Devaughn, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Devaughn
The surname DeVaughn has its origins in France, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French words "de" meaning "of" and "vaughan" which referred to a small valley or hollow. This suggests that the name likely originated from a place name, perhaps a village or town located in a valley region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseille, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century. It mentions a certain "Guillelmus de Vaughan" who was a witness to a land transaction in the year 1178.
Another notable historical reference is the Codex Diplomaticus Rheno-Mosellanus, a collection of medieval documents from the Rhineland region. In this text, a "Johannes de Vaughan" is listed as a landowner in the village of Boppard, near Koblenz, in the year 1237.
In the 13th century, the name appears to have spread to England, likely due to the Norman conquest and the migration of French settlers. One of the earliest recorded examples in English records is a "Roger de Vaughan" who is mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285.
During the Middle Ages, the name was also found in various spellings such as de Vaughan, de Vaughan, and de Vaughayn, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Notable individuals with the surname DeVaughn include:
1. William DeVaughn (1939-), an American singer and songwriter best known for his hit song "Be Thankful for What You Got" in 1974.
2. John DeVaughn (1925-2004), an American actor and screenwriter who appeared in several TV shows and films in the 1950s and 1960s.
3. Elizabeth DeVaughn (1696-1768), an American colonial woman who became famous for her role in defending her home during the French and Indian War in what is now Pennsylvania.
4. Reginald DeVaughn (1970-), an American R&B and neo-soul singer who has released several albums since the early 2000s.
5. Robert DeVaughn (1918-2004), an American academic and historian who served as the president of Ohio Wesleyan University from 1970 to 1984.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devaughn
Among Census respondents with the surname Devaughn, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Devaughn 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 Devaughn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.8% · 1,013
- White41.1% · 836
- Two or more races4.3% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Devaughn
Devaughn 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
#14,268
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,099
+82 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 497 places
2020
#14,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,035
-64 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Up 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,771 | 2,017 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,268 | 2,099 | 0.71 | +82 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 497 places |
| 2020 | #14,165 | 2,035 | 0.68 | -64 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 103 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 Devaughn 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 | #14,268 | #14,165 | 0.7% |
| Count | 2,099 | 2,035 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.68 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Devaughn bearers went from 2,099 to 2,035 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,268 to #14,165.
FAQ
Devaughn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Devaughn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,334 living Americans carry the surname Devaughn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,853 residents.
How common is Devaughn?
Devaughn ranks #14,165 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,035 people with the surname Devaughn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,334), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Devaughn.
Has Devaughn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Devaughn went from 2,099 recorded bearers to 2,035. That is a decrease of 64 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,268 to #14,165.
What does the Census say about the background of Devaughn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Devaughn, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Devaughn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.8% (1,013 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Devaughn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (49.8%), White (41.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Devaughn (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 Devaughn mean?
A Norman French surname derived from the given name Vaughan, meaning "little" or "small." 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 Devaughn (0.68 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 have the surname Devaughn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.