2000
#27,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 825
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Very Rare Last name
Dreyfus
A surname of German origin meaning someone who comes from the village of Dreyfus.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 924 Americans carry the last name Dreyfus. That puts it at #30,901 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 370,946 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dreyfus 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
924
1 in 370,946
Census rank
#30,901
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
806
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 806 bearers of the surname Dreyfus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 30901st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreyfus, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dreyfus
The surname Dreyfus is of French origin and dates back to the 17th century. It is derived from the French word "droit" which means "right" or "correct". The name is thought to have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone who was considered a fair or impartial person, perhaps a judge or magistrate.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Dreyfus can be found in various French records from the late 1600s, particularly in the Alsace region of eastern France. It is possible that the name may have derived from the German word "drei" meaning "three" and "fuss" meaning "foot", referring to a measurement or quantity. However, the French origin is more widely accepted.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Dreyfus was Raphaël Dreyfus (1670-1744), a French Jewish merchant and banker from Alsace. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish community and played a role in securing rights for Jews in France.
In the 19th century, the name gained notoriety with the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal involving Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), a French artillery officer of Jewish descent who was falsely accused of treason. The affair and his eventual exoneration became a significant event in the fight against anti-Semitism in France.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dreyfus include Camille Dreyfus (1851-1905), a French industrialist and chemist who co-founded the Dreyfus Group, a major agricultural commodity company. Ferdinand Dreyfus (1823-1891) was a Swiss businessman and one of the founders of the Société des Usines du Rhône, a manufacturing company.
In the United States, the name Dreyfus is associated with the Dreyfus family, a prominent banking and investment management family. Jack Dreyfus (1913-2009) founded the Dreyfus Corporation, a pioneering mutual fund company, and his son Howard Dreyfus (1928-2020) later served as the company's chairman.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dreyfus
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreyfus, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dreyfus 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 Dreyfus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 682
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 76
- Two or more races2.7% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dreyfus
Dreyfus 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
#29,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 789
-36 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 2,297 places
2020
#30,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 806
+17 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 1,108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,496 | 825 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #29,793 | 789 | 0.27 | -36 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 2,297 places |
| 2020 | #30,901 | 806 | 0.27 | +17 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 1,108 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 Dreyfus 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 | #29,793 | #30,901 | -3.7% |
| Count | 789 | 806 | 2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.27 | 0.27 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dreyfus bearers went from 789 to 806 (+2.2% change). The surname moved down 1,108 positions in the national ranking, going from #29,793 to #30,901.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dreyfus
FAQ
Dreyfus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dreyfus?
Name Census estimates that about 924 living Americans carry the surname Dreyfus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 370,946 residents.
How common is Dreyfus?
Dreyfus ranks #30,901 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.27 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 806 people with the surname Dreyfus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (924), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.27 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 Dreyfus.
Has Dreyfus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dreyfus went from 789 recorded bearers to 806. That is an increase of 17 (+2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #29,793 to #30,901.
What does the Census say about the background of Dreyfus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreyfus, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Dreyfus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (682 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dreyfus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Hispanic (9.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Dreyfus (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 Dreyfus mean?
A surname of German origin meaning someone who comes from the village of Dreyfus. 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 Dreyfus (0.27 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 share the surname Dreyfus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.