2000
#2,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.59
Uncommon Last name
Dubose
French occupational surname for a person who made boxwood containers or lived near a boxwood hedge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,335 Americans carry the last name Dubose. That puts it at #2,804 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,910 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dubose 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
14K
1 in 23,910
Census rank
#2,804
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,501 bearers of the surname Dubose in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2804th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dubose, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Black (45.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dubose
The surname DUBOSE has its origins in France and is believed to have emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old French words "du bois," which translate to "of the woods" or "from the woods." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or in a forested area.
One of the earliest known records of the name DUBOSE can be found in the Gascon region of southwestern France, where it appears in various historical documents dating back to the 1300s. The name was often spelled differently in these early records, with variations such as "du Bois," "du Boys," and "du Bosc" being quite common.
As the centuries passed, the name DUBOSE spread to other parts of France and eventually made its way to other countries, including England and the United States. One notable early bearer of the name was Jean du Bois, a French philosopher and logician who lived from 1492 to 1570.
In England, the DUBOSE name appears to have first emerged in the late 16th or early 17th century, likely brought over by French immigrants or Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England can be found in the parish records of St. Giles Cripplegate in London, where a Thomas Dubose was christened in 1616.
Among the notable individuals with the DUBOSE surname throughout history are:
1. Claudine du Bois (1554-1629), a French artist and poet known for her portraits of French nobility.
2. Peter DuBois (1759-1818), an American Revolutionary War soldier and politician who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress.
3. William E. B. DuBois (1810-1881), an American author and educator who served as the first president of Huguenot College in South Carolina.
4. William Edward Burghardt DuBois (1868-1963), a renowned African American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP.
5. Dorothy DuBose Heyward (1890-1964), an American novelist and playwright best known for her novel "Porgy," which later inspired the opera "Porgy and Bess."
While the DUBOSE name has undergone various spelling changes over the centuries and has been adopted by individuals in different countries, its roots can be traced back to the forested regions of medieval France, where it likely originated as a descriptive surname for those living near or among the woods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dubose
Among Census respondents with the surname Dubose, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Black (45.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dubose 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 Dubose surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.7% · 5,840
- Black or African American45.1% · 5,635
- Two or more races4.4% · 555
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 381
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dubose
Dubose 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
#2,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,120
+743 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 4.45
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#2,804
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,501
-619 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 4.18
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,682 | 12,377 | 4.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,748 | 13,120 | 4.45 | +743 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #2,804 | 12,501 | 4.18 | -619 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 56 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 Dubose 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 | #2,748 | #2,804 | -2.0% |
| Count | 13,120 | 12,501 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.45 | 4.18 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dubose bearers went from 13,120 to 12,501 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,748 to #2,804.
FAQ
Dubose surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dubose?
Name Census estimates that about 14,335 living Americans carry the surname Dubose. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,910 residents.
How common is Dubose?
Dubose ranks #2,804 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,501 people with the surname Dubose. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,335), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Dubose.
Has Dubose become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dubose went from 13,120 recorded bearers to 12,501. That is a decrease of 619 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,748 to #2,804.
What does the Census say about the background of Dubose?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dubose, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Black (45.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dubose in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.7% (5,840 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dubose appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.7%), Black (45.1%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dubose (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 Dubose mean?
French occupational surname for a person who made boxwood containers or lived near a boxwood hedge. 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 Dubose (4.18 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 Dubose?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.