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

Devitt, 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 Devitt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Devitt in America

Devitt is the 13219th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Devitt surname appeared 2,312 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Devitt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Devitt 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 Devitt

The surname DEVITT is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic Ó Damhaidh, which means descendant of Damha. Damha was a personal name derived from the Irish word damh, meaning an ox or stag. The surname is associated with County Mayo in the west of Ireland, where it was first recorded.

The name appears in various early spellings such as Deavitt, Devitt, Davitt, and Davett. It is believed to have been established as a distinct surname by the 11th or 12th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it refers to a Donnchadh Ó Damhaidh who was chief of Calraighe in County Mayo in the late 12th century.

In the 16th century, the Devitts were noted as one of the principal families of the Barony of Carra in County Mayo. During this period, the name was anglicized to its current spellings of Devitt and Davitt. Notable bearers of the name from this era include Gilla Riabhach Ó Damhaidh, who was lord of Calraighe in the early 16th century.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname is Michael Davitt (1846-1906), an Irish revolutionary and founder of the Irish National Land League. He campaigned for land reform and tenant rights, and was instrumental in the Irish Home Rule movement of the late 19th century.

Other notable Devitts throughout history include:

1. Patrick Davitt (1835-1912), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as Secretary of State of California.
2. James Davitt (1853-1929), an Irish-American labor leader and socialist activist.
3. John Devitt (1804-1873), an Irish-born Australian politician and landowner in New South Wales.
4. Thomas Devitt (1856-1924), an Irish-born Australian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.
5. Michael Devitt (1936-2020), an Irish philosopher and professor of philosophy at the University of Maryland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Devitt

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

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

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

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