2000
#6,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.90
Rare Last name
Devoe
A French toponymic surname derived from a place of origin, possibly meaning "of the valley" or "of the road."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,591 Americans carry the last name Devoe. That puts it at #6,654 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,305 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Devoe 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
5.6K
1 in 61,305
Census rank
#6,654
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,876 bearers of the surname Devoe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6654th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Devoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Devoe
The surname DEVOE has its origins in France, with the earliest records dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "de" meaning "from" and "voie" meaning "way" or "road." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a road or pathway.
The name DEVOE is found in various historical records throughout France, including the Domesday Book, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be "de Voi" in the Domesday Book.
During the Middle Ages, the name DEVOE was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It is likely that some individuals with this surname migrated to other parts of Europe and beyond during this period.
One notable individual with the surname DEVOE was Jean de Voé, a French soldier and explorer who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his third voyage to Canada in 1541. De Voé is credited with being one of the first Europeans to explore the St. Lawrence River region.
Another historical figure with the DEVOE surname was Pierre de Voé, a 17th-century French architect and engineer who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice and the Collège des Quatre-Nations (now the Institut de France).
In the 18th century, a French family with the surname DEVOE immigrated to the United States and settled in New York. One member of this family, John DeVoe, was a prominent merchant and landowner in New York City during the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Another individual of note was James DeVoe, an American educator and author who was born in 1817 in New York. He wrote several books on grammar and composition, and served as the principal of a school in New York City for many years.
A more recent figure with the DEVOE surname was Walter DeVoe, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1881 to 1952. He founded the DeVoe Paint Company and later donated a significant portion of his wealth to various educational and cultural institutions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devoe
Among Census respondents with the surname Devoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Devoe 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 Devoe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.7% · 3,742
- Black or African American15.0% · 729
- Two or more races4.4% · 215
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 137
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Devoe
Devoe 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
#6,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,118
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 454 places
2020
#6,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,876
-242 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,164 | 5,118 | 1.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,618 | 5,118 | 1.74 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 454 places |
| 2020 | #6,654 | 4,876 | 1.63 | -242 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 36 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 Devoe 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 | #6,618 | #6,654 | -0.5% |
| Count | 5,118 | 4,876 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.63 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Devoe bearers went from 5,118 to 4,876 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,618 to #6,654.
FAQ
Devoe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Devoe?
Name Census estimates that about 5,591 living Americans carry the surname Devoe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,305 residents.
How common is Devoe?
Devoe ranks #6,654 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,876 people with the surname Devoe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,591), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Devoe.
Has Devoe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Devoe went from 5,118 recorded bearers to 4,876. That is a decrease of 242 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,618 to #6,654.
What does the Census say about the background of Devoe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Devoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Devoe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (3,742 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Devoe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.7%), Black (15.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Devoe (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 Devoe mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place of origin, possibly meaning "of the valley" or "of the road." 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 Devoe (1.63 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 Devoe?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Devoe is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.