2000
#2,567
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,958
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.80
Uncommon Last name
Devries
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating someone from the town of Vriezenveen or a place with a similar name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,870 Americans carry the last name Devries. That puts it at #2,544 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,598 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Devries 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Devries with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,598
Census rank
#2,544
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,839 bearers of the surname Devries in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2544th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Devries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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recorded instances of the surname DEVRIES can be traced back to the 13th century in various Dutch municipal records and historical documents.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devries
Among Census respondents with the surname Devries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Devries 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 Devries surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 12,697
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 460
- Two or more races3.0% · 416
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 149
- Black or African American0.7% · 91
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Devries
Devries 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
#2,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,600
+642 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 4.61
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#2,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,839
+239 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 4.63
Rank movement Up 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,567 | 12,958 | 4.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,649 | 13,600 | 4.61 | +642 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #2,544 | 13,839 | 4.63 | +239 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 105 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 Devries 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 | #2,649 | #2,544 | 4.0% |
| Count | 13,600 | 13,839 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 4.61 | 4.63 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Devries bearers went from 13,600 to 13,839 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,649 to #2,544.
FAQ
Devries surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Devries?
Name Census estimates that about 15,870 living Americans carry the surname Devries. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,598 residents.
How common is Devries?
Devries ranks #2,544 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,839 people with the surname Devries. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,870), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Devries.
Has Devries become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Devries went from 13,600 recorded bearers to 13,839. That is an increase of 239 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,649 to #2,544.
What does the Census say about the background of Devries?
Among Census respondents with the surname Devries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Devries in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (12,697 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Devries appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Devries (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 Devries mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating someone from the town of Vriezenveen or a place with a similar name. 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 Devries (4.63 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 many people share the surname Devries?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.