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

deVilliers, 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 deVilliers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of deVilliers in America

deVilliers is the 54178th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The deVilliers surname appeared 381 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 deVilliers.

We can also compare 2010 data for deVilliers 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 deVilliers

The surname DeVilliers originates from France, appearing as early as the 12th century. It is derived from the French words "de" meaning "from" and "villiers" meaning "small village or hamlet". This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who hailed from a particular small village or hamlet.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name was often spelled Devilliers or De Villiers, with variations like De Villers or DeVilers also appearing. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Picardy.

One of the earliest known mentions of the name can be found in the cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Père-en-Vallée in Chartres, dating back to the 12th century, where a certain Robertus de Villiers is listed as a witness to a land transaction.

The name also appears in various medieval records and manuscripts, such as the Testa de Nevill, a survey of land ownership in England conducted in the 13th century. Here, the name is recorded as De Villers, referring to individuals who held lands in various counties across England.

Among the notable historical figures bearing the surname DeVilliers is Jean de Villiers, a French nobleman and military commander who served under King Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century (c. 1400-1472).

Another prominent individual was Simon de Villiers, a French explorer and diplomat who was sent to the Great Lakes region of North America in the late 17th century by the French government (c. 1635-1701).

In the 18th century, Marthe de Villiers was a notable French writer and salonnière, known for her literary salon in Paris which attracted many influential figures of the Enlightenment (1711-1784).

Moving to the 19th century, John Henry de Villiers was a British naval officer and explorer who surveyed and mapped portions of Australia's coastline in the early 1800s (1775-1842).

Lastly, Theophilus DeVilliers was a prominent South African jurist and statesman who served as Chief Justice of the Cape Colony in the late 19th century (1833-1914).

These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname DeVilliers, which has its roots in the small villages and hamlets of northern France during the medieval period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name deVilliers

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

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

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

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