2000
#8,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,596
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Dey
A surname of French origin, derived from the Old French "dé," meaning "dice" or referring to a dice maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,939 Americans carry the last name Dey. That puts it at #6,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dey 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 Dey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,712
Census rank
#6,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,179 bearers of the surname Dey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dey, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.2%) and Black (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dey
The surname "DEY" is of English origin, and it is derived from the Old English word "dæg," which means "day." This name likely originated as a nickname for someone who was born during the day or for someone whose occupation was related to daylight hours.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname "DEY" can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Daye." This suggests that the name was already in use in England during the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, the name "DEY" was also spelled as "Dai," "Day," and "Deye." These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling during that time period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname "DEY" was John Dey, a merchant who lived in London in the 14th century. He is mentioned in records from the city's Guild of Mercers.
During the 16th century, the surname "DEY" was associated with several notable figures, including Richard Dey, who was a member of the English Parliament in 1559, and Thomas Dey, a prominent playwright and poet who lived in London in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the name "DEY" gained recognition through the military exploits of Sir John Dey, an English general who served in the English Civil War and fought alongside Oliver Cromwell. Sir John Dey was born in 1610 and died in 1677.
Another notable bearer of the surname "DEY" was Thomas Dey, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in New Jersey, United States, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was one of the founders of the town of Freehold, New Jersey, and his name is associated with several place names in the area, such as Dey's Plantation and Dey's Brook.
In the 19th century, the surname "DEY" was carried by several prominent figures, including William Dey, a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was born in 1785, and John Dey, an American politician who served as Governor of New Jersey from 1833 to 1836.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dey
Among Census respondents with the surname Dey, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.2%) and Black (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dey 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 Dey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.2% · 2,445
- Asian and Pacific Islander42.2% · 2,186
- Black or African American5.0% · 259
- Two or more races3.1% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dey
Dey 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
#8,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,127
+531 bearers (+14.8%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Up 422 places
2020
#6,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,179
+1,052 bearers (+25.5%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Up 1,710 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,441 | 3,596 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,019 | 4,127 | 1.40 | +531 bearers (+14.8%) | Up 422 places |
| 2020 | #6,309 | 5,179 | 1.73 | +1,052 bearers (+25.5%) | Up 1,710 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 Dey 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 | #8,019 | #6,309 | 21.3% |
| Count | 4,127 | 5,179 | 25.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.73 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dey bearers went from 4,127 to 5,179 (+25.5% change). The surname moved up 1,710 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,019 to #6,309.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dey
FAQ
Dey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dey?
Name Census estimates that about 5,939 living Americans carry the surname Dey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,712 residents.
How common is Dey?
Dey ranks #6,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 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 5,179 people with the surname Dey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,939), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 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 Dey.
Has Dey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dey went from 4,127 recorded bearers to 5,179. That is an increase of 1,052 (+25.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,019 to #6,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Dey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dey, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.2%) and Black (5.0%). 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 Dey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.2% (2,445 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (42.2%), Black (5.0%). 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 Dey (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 Dey mean?
A surname of French origin, derived from the Old French "dé," meaning "dice" or referring to a dice maker. 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 Dey (1.73 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 Dey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.