Explore the Family Name Decatur

The meaning of Decatur

Probably an Americanized form of Dutch De Kater ‘the tomcat’ (see Kater), a metaphoric nickname or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn so named.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Decatur in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Decatur's popularity has seen modest fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Decatur ranked as the 25,926th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had slid slightly to become the 26,949th most common name, marking a 3.95% decline in rank. However, the total number of people carrying the Decatur name actually rose from 890 to 900 in this period, showing a small increase of 1.12%. The proportion of individuals with this surname per 100,000 people also decreased by 6.06%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#25,926	#26,949	-3.95%
Count	890	900	1.12%
Proportion per 100k	0.33	0.31	-6.06%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Decatur

The ethnic identity associated with the Decatur surname also shifted according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of Decaturs identifying as White dropped by 3.63%, from 79.44% to 76.56%, between 2000 and 2010. Those identifying as Black saw a rise from 16.85% to 19.56%, an increase of 16.08%. Meanwhile, the proportion identifying with two or more races fell by 12.57%, and those of Hispanic ethnicity decreased by 30.36%. Notably, there were increases among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native, which were not recorded in 2000 but represented 0.56% and 0.89% respectively in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	79.44%	76.56%	-3.63%
Black	16.85%	19.56%	16.08%
Two or More Races	1.91%	1.67%	-12.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.89%	0%
Hispanic	1.12%	0.78%	-30.36%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.56%	0%