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

DeVries, 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 DeVries surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeVries in America

DeVries is the 2649th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeVries surname appeared 13,600 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname DeVries.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeVries 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 DeVries

The surname DEVRIES has its origins in the Netherlands, emerging during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch phrase "de vries," which translates to "the Frisian." This suggests that the name likely originated among individuals or families hailing from the Frisian region in the northern Netherlands.

The earliest known recorded instances of the surname DEVRIES can be traced back to the 13th century in various Dutch municipal records and historical documents. One notable early reference is found in the 1285 registry of landowners in the city of Leiden, where a certain "Jan de Vries" is listed as a prominent landholder.

Throughout the subsequent centuries, the DEVRIES name continued to appear in various Dutch records and manuscripts. For instance, in the 1432 census of the city of Delft, several families bearing the surname are recorded as residents. Additionally, the name is mentioned in the 16th-century account of the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule, with a "Pieter de Vries" being noted as a rebel leader from the city of Haarlem.

As the Dutch colonized parts of the New World in the 17th century, the DEVRIES name began to spread beyond the Netherlands. One of the earliest known instances of the surname in the Americas is that of Joris Jacobszen DEVRIES, a Dutch ship captain who established a settlement on the Delaware River in present-day New Jersey in 1631.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the DEVRIES surname. These include:

1. Pieter DEVRIES (1535-1590), a Dutch Renaissance painter known for his portraits and religious works.
2. Dirck DEVRIES (1608-1673), a Dutch explorer and navigator who charted parts of the Australian coastline.
3. Isaac DEVRIES (1770-1835), a Dutch-American soldier and statesman who served as a general in the American Revolutionary War.
4. Simon DEVRIES (1813-1892), a Dutch-American architect and engineer who designed several prominent buildings in New York City, including the Brooklyn Bridge.
5. Gerard DEVRIES (1889-1966), a Dutch physicist and Nobel Prize laureate for his contributions to the understanding of the molecular structure of proteins.

While the DEVRIES name has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since spread across the globe, with descendants bearing the surname found in various countries and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeVries

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!