2000
#3,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,484
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.14
Uncommon Last name
Dube
A surname of Nguni origin referring to a zebra, likely given to a swift or agile person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,019 Americans carry the last name Dube. That puts it at #3,945 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,210 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dube 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 Dube with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 34,210
Census rank
#3,945
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,737 bearers of the surname Dube in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3945th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dube, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dube
The surname Dube is of French origin, deriving from the Old French word "dube" which means "hill" or "hillock." This name first emerged in the region of Normandy in northern France during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Dube date back to the 12th century in various administrative and legal documents from the Duchy of Normandy. One notable early bearer of this surname was Guillaume Dube, a Norman landowner who lived in the village of Beaumesnil in the late 1100s.
In the centuries that followed, the name Dube spread across France and eventually to other parts of Europe as families migrated. Some variations in spelling arose, such as Dubé, Dubee, and Dubaye, but all stemmed from the same Old French root.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Dube name in England was Robert Dube, a merchant from Rouen who settled in London in the early 15th century. Records show he was granted a license to trade with the city's wool merchants in 1412.
Another prominent individual with the Dube surname was Jean Dube, a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution and settled in the Dutch Republic in the late 16th century. He became a successful merchant and banker in Amsterdam.
In the 17th century, Jacques Dube was a French soldier and explorer who accompanied the famous explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle on his expeditions through the Great Lakes region of North America. Jacques Dube is believed to have been one of the first Europeans to set foot in what is now the state of Illinois.
During the French Revolution of the late 18th century, Pierre-Joseph Dube was a Catholic priest who became a vocal supporter of the revolutionary cause. He published several pamphlets advocating for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.
In more recent history, Fernand Dube was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1968, representing the riding of Restigouche—Madawaska in New Brunswick. He was born in 1904 and passed away in 1985.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dube
Among Census respondents with the surname Dube, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dube 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 Dube surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.9% · 7,239
- Black or African American6.4% · 558
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 320
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 304
- Two or more races3.3% · 292
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dube
Dube 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
#3,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,136
+652 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 3.10
Rank movement Down 36 places
2020
#3,945
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,737
-399 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 2.92
Rank movement Down 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,845 | 8,484 | 3.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,881 | 9,136 | 3.10 | +652 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 36 places |
| 2020 | #3,945 | 8,737 | 2.92 | -399 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 64 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 Dube 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 | #3,881 | #3,945 | -1.6% |
| Count | 9,136 | 8,737 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.10 | 2.92 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dube bearers went from 9,136 to 8,737 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,881 to #3,945.
FAQ
Dube surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dube?
Name Census estimates that about 10,019 living Americans carry the surname Dube. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,210 residents.
How common is Dube?
Dube ranks #3,945 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,737 people with the surname Dube. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,019), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Dube.
Has Dube become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dube went from 9,136 recorded bearers to 8,737. That is a decrease of 399 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,881 to #3,945.
What does the Census say about the background of Dube?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dube, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Dube in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (7,239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dube appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.9%), Black (6.4%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Dube (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 Dube mean?
A surname of Nguni origin referring to a zebra, likely given to a swift or agile person. 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 Dube (2.92 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 Dube?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.