2000
#9,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,047
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Dufrene
French occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold ash wood, derived from Old French "fraisne" meaning "ash tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,569 Americans carry the last name Dufrene. That puts it at #9,898 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,037 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dufrene 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
3.6K
1 in 96,037
Census rank
#9,898
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,112 bearers of the surname Dufrene in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9898th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dufrene, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dufrene
The surname DUFRENE originated in France during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words 'du' meaning 'of the' and 'frene' meaning 'ash tree'. The name likely referred to someone who lived near an ash tree or in an area known for its abundance of ash trees.
DUFRENE was particularly common in the northern regions of France, especially Normandy and the surrounding areas. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in parish records and tax rolls from the 13th and 14th centuries in these regions.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jehan Dufrene, a Norman landowner mentioned in the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen, a census of the city's inhabitants, in 1292. Another early record is that of Guillaume Dufrene, a merchant from Caen mentioned in a trade document from 1314.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various records across northern France, including the Livre des Bourgeois de Gournay, a census of the town of Gournay-en-Bray, where several families with the surname DUFRENE are listed.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some prominence with the birth of François Dufrene (1495-1568), a French lawyer and magistrate who served as a counselor in the Parlement of Paris.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jacques Dufrene (1639-1724), a French Benedictine monk and scholar who authored several theological works and served as the prior of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris.
In the 18th century, the name was carried by Jacques-Philippe Dufrene (1729-1804), a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Théâtre des Variétés and the Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule.
As the name spread throughout France and into other regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Dufresne, Dufrène, and Dufrayne, but the core form of DUFRENE remained prevalent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dufrene
Among Census respondents with the surname Dufrene, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Dufrene 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 Dufrene surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 2,782
- Black or African American3.7% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 99
- Two or more races2.2% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dufrene
Dufrene 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
#10,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,115
+68 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 541 places
2020
#9,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,112
-3 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 441 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,798 | 3,047 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,339 | 3,115 | 1.06 | +68 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 541 places |
| 2020 | #9,898 | 3,112 | 1.04 | -3 bearers (-0.1%) | Up 441 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 Dufrene 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 | #10,339 | #9,898 | 4.3% |
| Count | 3,115 | 3,112 | -0.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 1.04 | -1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dufrene bearers went from 3,115 to 3,112 (-0.1% change). The surname moved up 441 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,339 to #9,898.
FAQ
Dufrene surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dufrene?
Name Census estimates that about 3,569 living Americans carry the surname Dufrene. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,037 residents.
How common is Dufrene?
Dufrene ranks #9,898 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,112 people with the surname Dufrene. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,569), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dufrene.
Has Dufrene become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dufrene went from 3,115 recorded bearers to 3,112. That is a decrease of 3 (-0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,339 to #9,898.
What does the Census say about the background of Dufrene?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dufrene, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Dufrene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (2,782 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dufrene appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Black (3.7%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Dufrene (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 Dufrene mean?
French occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold ash wood, derived from Old French "fraisne" meaning "ash tree". 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 Dufrene (1.04 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 have the last name Dufrene?
You can see how common the surname Dufrene is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.