2000
#12,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,269
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Devita
Derived from the Italian phrase "de Vita," meaning "of life," referring to a lively or vigorous person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,514 Americans carry the last name Devita. That puts it at #13,317 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,338 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Devita 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
2.5K
1 in 136,338
Census rank
#13,317
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,192 bearers of the surname Devita in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13317th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Devita, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Devita
The surname DEVITA originates from Italy and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Italian phrase "de vita," which translates to "of life" or "of the life." The name likely referred to someone who lived a particularly virtuous or remarkable life.
One of the earliest known records of the DEVITA surname dates back to 1587, when a Giovanni DEVITA was recorded in the census records of the city of Naples. This suggests that the name may have originated in or around the region of Campania in southern Italy.
In the 17th century, the DEVITA surname appears in several historical documents and manuscripts, including the records of the University of Bologna. This indicates that members of the DEVITA family were likely educated and played a role in academic or scholarly circles during this time period.
One notable figure bearing the DEVITA surname was Francesco DEVITA (1660-1732), an Italian painter and artist who was known for his religious works and frescoes in churches throughout Naples and the surrounding areas.
Another prominent individual was Girolamo DEVITA (1712-1784), a Neapolitan lawyer and jurist who served as a magistrate in the Sicilian court system and published several influential legal treatises during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, the DEVITA name can be found in various records and documents from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. One such individual was Giuseppe DEVITA (1811-1892), a political activist and writer who advocated for the unification of Italy and participated in the Risorgimento movement.
The DEVITA surname also has ties to the island of Sicily, with records indicating that several families with this name resided in the cities of Palermo and Catania during the 18th and 19th centuries. One example is Antonio DEVITA (1825-1897), a Sicilian priest and educator who founded a school for underprivileged children in Palermo.
While the DEVITA surname is primarily associated with Italy, it has also been recorded in other parts of Europe and the Americas, likely due to emigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devita
Among Census respondents with the surname Devita, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Devita 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 Devita surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.5% · 1,918
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 168
- Two or more races3.2% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Devita
Devita 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
#12,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,472
+203 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#13,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,192
-280 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 781 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,524 | 2,269 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,536 | 2,472 | 0.84 | +203 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #13,317 | 2,192 | 0.73 | -280 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 781 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 Devita 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 | #12,536 | #13,317 | -6.2% |
| Count | 2,472 | 2,192 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.73 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Devita bearers went from 2,472 to 2,192 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 781 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,536 to #13,317.
FAQ
Devita surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Devita?
Name Census estimates that about 2,514 living Americans carry the surname Devita. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,338 residents.
How common is Devita?
Devita ranks #13,317 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,192 people with the surname Devita. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,514), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Devita.
Has Devita become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Devita went from 2,472 recorded bearers to 2,192. That is a decrease of 280 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,536 to #13,317.
What does the Census say about the background of Devita?
Among Census respondents with the surname Devita, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Devita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (1,918 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Devita appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.5%), Hispanic (7.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Devita (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 Devita mean?
Derived from the Italian phrase "de Vita," meaning "of life," referring to a lively or vigorous person. 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 Devita (0.73 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 common is the surname Devita?
Want to know how many people have the last name Devita? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.