2000
#5,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,094
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.26
Rare Last name
Deweese
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an origin near a meadow or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,661 Americans carry the last name Deweese. That puts it at #5,745 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,457 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deweese 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
6.7K
1 in 51,457
Census rank
#5,745
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,809 bearers of the surname Deweese in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5745th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deweese, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deweese
Among Census respondents with the surname Deweese, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Deweese 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 Deweese surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 5,325
- Two or more races3.5% · 203
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 128
- Black or African American1.5% · 88
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deweese
Deweese 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
#5,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,095
+1 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 2.07
Rank movement Down 427 places
2020
#5,745
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,809
-286 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,259 | 6,094 | 2.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,686 | 6,095 | 2.07 | +1 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 427 places |
| 2020 | #5,745 | 5,809 | 1.94 | -286 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 59 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 Deweese 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 | #5,686 | #5,745 | -1.0% |
| Count | 6,095 | 5,809 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.07 | 1.94 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deweese bearers went from 6,095 to 5,809 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,686 to #5,745.
FAQ
Deweese surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deweese?
Name Census estimates that about 6,661 living Americans carry the surname Deweese. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,457 residents.
How common is Deweese?
Deweese ranks #5,745 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.94 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 5,809 people with the surname Deweese. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,661), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.94 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 Deweese.
Has Deweese become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deweese went from 6,095 recorded bearers to 5,809. That is a decrease of 286 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,686 to #5,745.
What does the Census say about the background of Deweese?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deweese, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Deweese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (5,325 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deweese appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Deweese (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 Deweese mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an origin near a meadow or pasture. 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 Deweese (1.94 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 Americans have the surname Deweese?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.