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

Devlin, 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 Devlin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Devlin in America

Devlin is the 2774th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Devlin surname appeared 13,014 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Devlin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Devlin 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 Devlin

The surname Devlin originates from Ireland and dates back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized version of the Gaelic name O'Dobhalein, which means "descendant of Dobhailen." The name Dobhailen is derived from the Irish word dubh, meaning "dark" or "black," and may have referred to someone with dark features or hair.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Irish annals and documents. One notable mention is in the Annals of Ulster, which refers to a "Dubhalein O'Dubhalein" in the year 1189. This suggests that the name was already well-established in Ireland by the late 12th century.

The Devlin name is particularly associated with County Fermanagh in Ulster, where it has a long and prominent history. In the 16th century, the Devlins were among the most powerful families in the region, and several members of the clan were noted as leaders and landowners.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the anglicized spelling "Devlin" can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor reign, which mention a "Patrick Devlin" in County Fermanagh in 1586.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Devlin. These include:

1. Patrick Devlin (1905-1992), a prominent British lawyer and judge who served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1962 to 1964.

2. Bernadette Devlin McAliskey (born 1947), a prominent Irish republican and civil rights activist who became the youngest woman ever elected to the British Parliament in 1969 at the age of 21.

3. Michael Devlin (1923-2005), an American Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Brownsville, Texas, from 1965 to 1998.

4. John Devlin (1919-2008), an American politician who served as Mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 1964 to 1976.

5. Denis Devlin (1908-1959), an Irish poet and literary critic who was a member of the Irish Academy of Letters and a co-founder of the influential literary journal Envoy.

The Devlin name has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Devlinstown and Devlinburn, further highlighting its historical significance and geographic roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Devlin

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

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

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

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