Explore the Family Name Demarais

The meaning of Demarais

1. Altered form of French Desmarais, a cognate of 2 below. 2. In some cases possibly also French: habitational name, with fused preposition de, for someone from any of several minor places in northern France named Marais (from Old French mareis ‘marsh’), hence a variant of Marais 1. Alternatively, the name may simply have been topographic. Some characteristic forenames: French Cecile, Liette, Prosper.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Demarais has seen a marginal decline between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the name dropped from 27,028 in 2000 to 27,646 in 2010, indicating a decrease of 2.29%. In terms of its prevalence, the population count of individuals with the Demarais surname rose slightly by 3.2% from 843 to 870 during the same period. However, the proportion per 100,000 people dipped by 6.45%, shifting from 0.31 in 2000 to 0.29 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#27,028#27,646-2.29%
Count8438703.2%
Proportion per 100k0.310.29-6.45%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Demarais

Moving onto the ethnic identity of individuals bearing the Demarais surname, the Decennial U.S. Census provides us with an interesting shift over the decade. A dominant majority identified as White, although this percentage decreased slightly from 93.12% in 2000 to 91.72% in 2010. There was a noteworthy increase in those identifying as Hispanic, moving from 1.30% to 1.49%. The number of people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Black remained the same. Interestingly, there was a novel appearance of individuals identifying with two or more races at 2.64% in 2010 (the data for 2000 was suppressed). Lastly, those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native declined from 2.73% to 2.18%.

20002010Change
White93.12%91.72%-1.5%
Two or More Races0%2.64%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native2.73%2.18%-20.15%
Hispanic1.3%1.49%14.62%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Black1.3%0%0%