2000
#8,155
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,742
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.39
Rare Last name
Devereaux
A French habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "from Évreux," referring to a town in Normandy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,366 Americans carry the last name Devereaux. That puts it at #8,324 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,505 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Devereaux 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 Devereaux with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,505
Census rank
#8,324
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,807 bearers of the surname Devereaux in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8324th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Devereaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Devereaux
The surname Devereaux is of Anglo-Norman origin and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the ancient town of Evreux in Normandy, France. The name is a locational surname, which means it was originally given to someone who came from or lived near the town of Evreux.
The name is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was initially spelled as "de Evreux" or "de Evreux-Normandie" to indicate the bearer's place of origin. Over time, it evolved into the more Anglicized form of "Devereaux" or "Devereux."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "de Evreux," indicating that the bearer was of Norman descent and hailed from the town of Evreux.
In the 12th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Robert Devereux, who served as the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1155. Another early record is that of Sir Walter Devereux, who accompanied King Richard I on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land in 1191.
The Devereux family gained prominence in the 16th century with Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex (1541-1576), who was a prominent courtier and military leader during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His son, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1567-1601), was a favorite of the Queen but later fell out of favor and was executed for treason.
Other notable individuals with the surname Devereux include:
1. Thomas Devereux, 4th Viscount Hereford (1572-1619), an English nobleman and politician.
2. Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex (1591-1646), an English Civil War leader who fought for the Parliamentarian cause.
3. Walter Devereux, 5th Viscount Hereford (1578-1558), an English soldier and courtier during the reign of King Charles I.
4. Georges Devereux (1908-1985), a French-American ethnologist and psychoanalyst known for his work in cultural anthropology.
5. Anita Devereux (1937-2005), a British writer and artist who authored several books on art and culture.
Throughout history, the Devereaux surname has been associated with prominent figures in various fields, including politics, military, and the arts. Its origins can be traced back to the Norman conquest of England, and it has evolved from its original form to reflect the Anglicization of French surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devereaux
Among Census respondents with the surname Devereaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Devereaux 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 Devereaux surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 2,903
- Black or African American13.1% · 499
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 170
- Two or more races3.8% · 146
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Devereaux
Devereaux 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
#8,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,949
+207 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.34
Rank movement Down 228 places
2020
#8,324
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,807
-142 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,155 | 3,742 | 1.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,383 | 3,949 | 1.34 | +207 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 228 places |
| 2020 | #8,324 | 3,807 | 1.27 | -142 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 59 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 Devereaux 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 | #8,383 | #8,324 | 0.7% |
| Count | 3,949 | 3,807 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.34 | 1.27 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Devereaux bearers went from 3,949 to 3,807 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,383 to #8,324.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Devereaux
FAQ
Devereaux surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Devereaux?
Name Census estimates that about 4,366 living Americans carry the surname Devereaux. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,505 residents.
How common is Devereaux?
Devereaux ranks #8,324 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.27 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 3,807 people with the surname Devereaux. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,366), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.27 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 Devereaux.
Has Devereaux become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Devereaux went from 3,949 recorded bearers to 3,807. That is a decrease of 142 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,383 to #8,324.
What does the Census say about the background of Devereaux?
Among Census respondents with the surname Devereaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Devereaux in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (2,903 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Devereaux appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.3%), Black (13.1%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Devereaux (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 Devereaux mean?
A French habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "from Évreux," referring to a town in Normandy. 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 Devereaux (1.27 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 are called Devereaux?
See how many people are called Devereaux on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.