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

DeWeese, 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 DeWeese surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeWeese in America

DeWeese is the 5686th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeWeese surname appeared 6,095 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname DeWeese.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeWeese 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 DeWeese

The surname DeWeese originated in the Netherlands during the 13th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "de" meaning "the" and "wees" meaning "orphan." The name likely referred to someone who worked at or lived near an orphanage.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in a Dutch census from the year 1275, where a man named Jan DeWeese was listed as a resident of the city of Utrecht. The name was also found in various church records and property deeds from the same time period in the surrounding areas of the Netherlands.

In the 15th century, the name began to appear in other parts of Europe as Dutch families migrated. A notable example is Hans DeWeese, who was a merchant and landowner born in 1457 in the town of Aachen, which is now located in modern-day Germany.

The earliest recorded spelling variation of the name was "de Wese," which was found in a document from the city of Antwerp, Belgium, dated 1512. This spelling likely reflected the local dialect and pronunciation at the time.

During the 17th century, the name made its way to the American colonies with Dutch settlers. One of the first recorded instances was Pieter DeWeese, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1638. He later became a successful farmer and landowner in the area.

Another notable individual with the surname DeWeese was Captain James DeWeese, who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1745 in Pennsylvania and fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure was William DeWeese, a businessman and politician from Ohio. He was born in 1826 and served as a member of the Ohio State Senate from 1866 to 1870.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname DeWeese was Harry DeWeese, an American actor and film director born in 1881. He appeared in numerous silent films during the early 20th century and directed several movies for various studios in Hollywood.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeWeese

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

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

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

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