2000
#7,490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.52
Rare Last name
Deville
From the French place name "Deville," derived from the Old French "ville," meaning "settlement" or "town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,226 Americans carry the last name Deville. That puts it at #8,572 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 81,106 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deville 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Deville with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 81,106
Census rank
#8,572
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,685 bearers of the surname Deville in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8572nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deville, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deville
The surname DEVILLE originates from France and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "de" meaning "from" and "ville" meaning "town" or "village." This name was likely given to someone who hailed from a particular town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DEVILLE can be found in the historical records of the Duchy of Normandy, where the name appeared as "de Ville" in the 12th century. It is believed that this was a locative surname, indicating that the bearer was originally from a specific town or village within the region.
In the 13th century, the name DEVILLE appeared in various Latin manuscripts and legal documents across northern France. One notable example is the record of a landowner named Reginald DEVILLE, who was mentioned in a charter from the year 1278.
During the Middle Ages, the spelling of the name varied, with variations such as "de Ville," "de Vil," and "de Vill" being commonly encountered in historic records and manuscripts from different regions of France.
The name DEVILLE has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One example is André DEVILLE, a French metallurgist born in 1756, who made significant contributions to the field of metallurgy and is known for his work on the production of aluminum.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Paul DEVILLE, a French Jesuit missionary born in 1594, who traveled to Canada and played a crucial role in the establishment of missions and the conversion of indigenous populations to Christianity.
In the literary world, Gabriel DEVILLE, a French writer and poet born in 1854, gained recognition for his works that explored themes of nature and the human experience.
The DEVILLE surname has also been linked to various place names across France, such as Villedieu and Villeneuve, further reinforcing its locative origins.
Over the centuries, the name DEVILLE has spread beyond France and can be found in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with historical French influence or immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deville
Among Census respondents with the surname Deville, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Deville 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 Deville surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.2% · 2,659
- Black or African American16.0% · 589
- Two or more races5.6% · 207
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 181
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deville
Deville 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
#8,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,877
-225 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 1,006 places
2020
#8,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,685
-192 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,490 | 4,102 | 1.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,496 | 3,877 | 1.31 | -225 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 1,006 places |
| 2020 | #8,572 | 3,685 | 1.23 | -192 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 76 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 Deville 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 | #8,496 | #8,572 | -0.9% |
| Count | 3,877 | 3,685 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.23 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deville bearers went from 3,877 to 3,685 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,496 to #8,572.
FAQ
Deville surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deville?
Name Census estimates that about 4,226 living Americans carry the surname Deville. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 81,106 residents.
How common is Deville?
Deville ranks #8,572 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.23 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 3,685 people with the surname Deville. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,226), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.23 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 Deville.
Has Deville become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deville went from 3,877 recorded bearers to 3,685. That is a decrease of 192 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,496 to #8,572.
What does the Census say about the background of Deville?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deville, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Deville in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (2,659 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deville appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.2%), Black (16.0%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Deville (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 Deville mean?
From the French place name "Deville," derived from the Old French "ville," meaning "settlement" or "town." 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 Deville (1.23 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 last name Deville?
See how many people are called Deville on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.