DeWyer last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of DeWyer

A variant spelling of the name Dew(e)y referring to someone from the village of Dewey.

DeWyer, 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 DeWyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeWyer in America

DeWyer is the 75799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeWyer surname appeared 254 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname DeWyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeWyer 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 75799 67725 11.25%
Count 254 272 -6.84%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.10 -10.53%

The history of the last name DeWyer

The surname DEWYER is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, derived from the Old English words "de" meaning "of" and "wyer" meaning "a maker of wire or metal wires." This suggests that the name was initially an occupational surname given to those who worked as wire makers or metal workers.

One of the earliest known records of the name DEWYER can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire, dating back to 1273, where it appears as "Dewyer." This historical document was a survey conducted during the reign of King Edward I, recording the names of landowners and their tenants.

In the 14th century, the surname DEWYER was also documented in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, where it was spelled as "Dewyre." This variation in spelling was common during that era due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.

The DEWYER surname has been associated with various locations throughout England, including the counties of Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire. Some early bearers of the name may have taken their surnames from place names such as Dewsbury, a town in West Yorkshire, which was originally recorded as "Dewyresbyr" in the Domesday Book of 1086.

One notable individual with the surname DEWYER was John Dewyer, born in 1570 in Wigan, Lancashire. He was a prominent merchant and landowner during the Elizabethan era.

Another notable figure was Thomas Dewyer, born in 1634 in York, Yorkshire. He was a renowned clockmaker and inventor, credited with developing several innovative timepiece mechanisms during the 17th century.

In the 18th century, Samuel Dewyer, born in 1712 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, gained recognition as a successful merchant and shipowner, contributing significantly to the city's maritime trade.

William Dewyer, born in 1785 in Nottinghamshire, was a prominent industrialist and entrepreneur who played a crucial role in the development of the textile industry during the Industrial Revolution.

Lastly, Elizabeth Dewyer, born in 1842 in Oxfordshire, was a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights, establishing several schools and campaigning for educational reforms in the late 19th century.

While the DEWYER surname may have evolved over time and spread across various regions of England, its origin can be traced back to the medieval period and the occupation of wire making or metal work.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeWyer

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

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 DeWyer was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.55% 230
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.76% 7
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.97% 5
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 3.15% 8
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 DeWyer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.55% 96.32% -6.18%
Black 2.76% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.97% 0.00% 200.00%
Two or More Races 3.15% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% 1.84% (S)%

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

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

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"DeWyer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/dewyer-surname-popularity/.

"DeWyer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/dewyer-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 July, 2025

DeWyer last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/dewyer-surname-popularity/.

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