2000
#24,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 971
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.36
Rare Last name
Deakin
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "valley of the deer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,070 Americans carry the last name Deakin. That puts it at #27,373 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 320,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deakin 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 Deakin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 320,331
Census rank
#27,373
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
933
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 933 bearers of the surname Deakin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27373rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deakin
The surname Deakin originated in England during the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the given name Diak, a medieval diminutive of the personal name Dionysius. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire county records dating back to the 13th century.
The name has been spelled in various ways over the centuries, including Deacon, Deaken, Deakyn, and Deakine. These variations reflect the inconsistent spelling practices of the Middle Ages, as well as regional dialectal variations. Some sources suggest that the name may have also been influenced by the Old English word "deacon," referring to a minor cleric or church officer.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Deakyn, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1327. Another early mention of the name appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, which lists a Thomas Deakyn.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name gained prominence in the Midlands region of England, particularly in the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Notable individuals from this period include William Deaken (1571-1629), a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament for Derby, and Robert Deakin (1612-1662), a Presbyterian minister and author.
In the 18th century, the Deakin surname was well-established in the West Midlands, with many bearers residing in the city of Birmingham and its surrounding areas. One notable figure from this time was Thomas Deakin (1744-1825), a successful industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Deakin Brass Works in Birmingham.
Moving into the 19th century, the Deakin family continued to play a significant role in the industrial development of the Midlands region. Alfred Deakin (1856-1919) was a prominent Australian politician and lawyer who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, and again from 1905 to 1908. He was born in Melbourne to English parents and was a descendant of the Deakin family from Derbyshire.
Other notable individuals with the Deakin surname include Sir William Deakin (1838-1923), a British civil engineer and architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Birmingham, and Walter Deakin (1863-1925), a British painter and illustrator known for his depictions of countryside scenes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deakin
Among Census respondents with the surname Deakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Deakin 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 Deakin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 861
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 31
- Two or more races2.5% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 10
- Black or African American0.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deakin
Deakin 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
#25,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 952
-19 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 1,649 places
2020
#27,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 933
-19 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 1,524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,200 | 971 | 0.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #25,849 | 952 | 0.32 | -19 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 1,649 places |
| 2020 | #27,373 | 933 | 0.31 | -19 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 1,524 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 Deakin 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 | #25,849 | #27,373 | -5.9% |
| Count | 952 | 933 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.32 | 0.31 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deakin bearers went from 952 to 933 (-2.0% change). The surname moved down 1,524 positions in the national ranking, going from #25,849 to #27,373.
FAQ
Deakin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deakin?
Name Census estimates that about 1,070 living Americans carry the surname Deakin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 320,331 residents.
How common is Deakin?
Deakin ranks #27,373 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 933 people with the surname Deakin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,070), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Deakin.
Has Deakin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deakin went from 952 recorded bearers to 933. That is a decrease of 19 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #25,849 to #27,373.
What does the Census say about the background of Deakin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Deakin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (861 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deakin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Deakin (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 Deakin mean?
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "valley of the deer". 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 Deakin (0.31 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 Deakin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.