Ducey last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ducey

An occupational surname derived from the Old French word "dous" meaning sweet, referring to a maker of sweets or confectioner.

Ducey, 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 Ducey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ducey in America

Ducey is the 24517th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ducey surname appeared 1,020 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 Ducey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ducey 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 24517 22688 7.75%
Count 1,020 1,057 -3.56%
Proportion per 100k 0.35 0.39 -10.81%

The history of the last name Ducey

The surname DUCEY is of French origin, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period in the region of Normandy, France. The name is derived from the Old French word "ducé," which means "duchy" or "dukedom," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have held positions or resided within the domain of a duke.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various spellings, including Ducey, Ducé, and Duceye. These variations were common during the Middle Ages when standardized spellings were not yet established. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.

During the 12th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Hugues de Ducey, a Norman nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard the Lionheart. Hugues de Ducey was recorded as one of the knights who accompanied Richard on his journey to the Holy Land in 1190.

In the 14th century, another prominent individual with the surname DUCEY was Jean Ducey, a renowned scholar and theologian born in Normandy around 1320. Jean Ducey's works on scholastic philosophy and theology were widely studied and influential during his time.

As the centuries passed, the DUCEY name spread beyond Normandy and across various regions of France. In the 16th century, a merchant named Pierre Ducey (1525-1598) gained recognition for his successful trading ventures in the city of Lyon.

Moving into the 17th century, a notable bearer of the DUCEY name was Jacques Ducey (1612-1679), a French military officer who served under King Louis XIV and participated in various campaigns during the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War.

Throughout its history, the DUCEY surname has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including nobility, scholars, merchants, and military figures. While the name may have evolved in its spelling over time, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Normandy, where it likely originated from those associated with a duke or dukedom.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ducey

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

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 Ducey was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.08% 980
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.88% 9
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.59% 6
Hispanic Origin 1.57% 16

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.08% 97.73% -1.70%
Black 0.88% 0.66% 28.57%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.59% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 1.57% 1.14% 31.73%

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

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

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"Ducey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 17, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ducey-surname-popularity/.

"Ducey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ducey-surname-popularity/. Accessed 17 July, 2025

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

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