2000
#1,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.46
Uncommon Last name
Deal
An English occupational surname for a dealer, trader, or someone who makes transactions.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,519 Americans carry the last name Deal. That puts it at #1,785 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,221 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deal 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 Deal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 15,221
Census rank
#1,785
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,638 bearers of the surname Deal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1785th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deal, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deal
The surname DEAL is of English origin, derived from the Middle English word "dele," meaning a share or portion of land. It first appeared in the 13th century in the counties of Kent and Sussex, which were areas where the practice of dividing and allocating land was common.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, where a John atte Dele is mentioned. This entry suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a piece of divided or allocated land.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Dele, Deale, and Diele, reflecting the diverse ways in which it was pronounced and recorded by scribes of the time.
The Hundred Rolls of 1273 contain a reference to a William de la Dele, indicating that the surname may have been associated with a particular place or location known as "the dele" or "the portion."
A notable bearer of the name was Sir John Deal (c.1570-1639), an English merchant and diplomat who served as the governor of the East India Company's settlement in Surat, India. He played a significant role in establishing British trade in the region.
Another individual of historical note was Sir Edward Deal (c.1595-1665), a member of the Virginia Company and a prominent figure in the early colonization of Virginia. He was granted land in the colony and served as a member of the Council of State during the English Civil War.
In the 17th century, the surname appeared in various records, including the Hearth Tax Rolls of Kent in 1664, where a Thomas Deal is listed as a householder.
The name DEAL can also be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a family bearing the surname was recorded in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Other notable individuals with the surname DEAL include Sir Robert Deal (c.1570-1628), an English lawyer and member of Parliament, and John Deal (c.1615-1681), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Topsfield, Massachusetts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deal
Among Census respondents with the surname Deal, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Deal 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 Deal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.6% · 16,026
- Black or African American9.0% · 1,765
- Two or more races4.0% · 795
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 635
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 309
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 108
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deal
Deal 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
#1,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,366
+238 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 6.90
Rank movement Down 131 places
2020
#1,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,638
-728 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 6.57
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,629 | 20,128 | 7.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,760 | 20,366 | 6.90 | +238 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 131 places |
| 2020 | #1,785 | 19,638 | 6.57 | -728 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 25 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 Deal 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 | #1,760 | #1,785 | -1.4% |
| Count | 20,366 | 19,638 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 6.90 | 6.57 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deal bearers went from 20,366 to 19,638 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,760 to #1,785.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Deal
FAQ
Deal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deal?
Name Census estimates that about 22,519 living Americans carry the surname Deal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,221 residents.
How common is Deal?
Deal ranks #1,785 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,638 people with the surname Deal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,519), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Deal.
Has Deal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deal went from 20,366 recorded bearers to 19,638. That is a decrease of 728 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,760 to #1,785.
What does the Census say about the background of Deal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deal, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Deal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (16,026 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.6%), Black (9.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Deal (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 Deal mean?
An English occupational surname for a dealer, trader, or someone who makes transactions. 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 Deal (6.57 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 Deal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.