2000
#4,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,918
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.56
Rare Last name
Dugas
A French topographic surname denoting someone who lived near a ford or shallow stream crossing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,531 Americans carry the last name Dugas. That puts it at #5,147 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,512 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dugas 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
7.5K
1 in 45,512
Census rank
#5,147
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,567 bearers of the surname Dugas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5147th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugas, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dugas
The surname DUGAS originated in France and has been recorded since the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old French word "dogue" meaning "mastiff dog", likely referring to an ancestor with a tenacious or aggressive personality. The earliest known bearer was Jean Dugas, born around 1580 in La Rochelle, a Protestant stronghold on the Atlantic coast.
One of the earliest records of the name is found in the parish registers of Poitou in western France, where several families bearing the name resided during the 17th century. The name also appears in documents relating to the persecution of Huguenots, with some DUGAS families seeking refuge in England and the Netherlands after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.
In the 18th century, the name spread to other regions of France, including Normandy and Brittany. Notable bearers from this period include Jacques Dugas (1703-1779), a merchant and landowner in Bordeaux, and Marie-Madeleine Dugas (1718-1798), a Catholic nun who founded a convent school in Nantes.
The name began to appear in North America in the late 17th century, with some of the earliest settlers arriving in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) from the La Rochelle region. One of the first recorded instances is that of Pierre Dugas, born in 1670 in Port Royal, Acadia. His descendants later migrated to Louisiana after the British expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.
Other notable bearers of the DUGAS name include René Dugas (1821-1894), a Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Senate of Canada, and Alfred Dugas (1857-1939), a French painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits. In the United States, Charles Dugas (1870-1945) was a prominent architect from New Orleans who designed many landmark buildings across the American South.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dugas
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugas, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dugas 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 Dugas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.4% · 5,081
- Black or African American15.5% · 1,021
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 220
- Two or more races3.0% · 197
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dugas
Dugas 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
#5,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,871
-47 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 409 places
2020
#5,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,567
-304 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,684 | 6,918 | 2.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,093 | 6,871 | 2.33 | -47 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 409 places |
| 2020 | #5,147 | 6,567 | 2.20 | -304 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 54 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 Dugas 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 | #5,093 | #5,147 | -1.1% |
| Count | 6,871 | 6,567 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.20 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dugas bearers went from 6,871 to 6,567 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,093 to #5,147.
FAQ
Dugas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dugas?
Name Census estimates that about 7,531 living Americans carry the surname Dugas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,512 residents.
How common is Dugas?
Dugas ranks #5,147 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.20 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 6,567 people with the surname Dugas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,531), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.20 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 Dugas.
Has Dugas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dugas went from 6,871 recorded bearers to 6,567. That is a decrease of 304 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,093 to #5,147.
What does the Census say about the background of Dugas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dugas, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Dugas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (5,081 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dugas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.4%), Black (15.5%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Dugas (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 Dugas mean?
A French topographic surname denoting someone who lived near a ford or shallow stream crossing. 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 Dugas (2.20 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 Dugas?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.