Explore the Family Name Dewell

The meaning of Dewell

English: 1. variant of Deaville, a nickname from Middle English devel (Old English dēofol) ‘devil, Satan’, possibly acquired as a pageant name or as a shortened form of a longer nickname. Compare Devall and Deeble. 2. of Breton origin, a variant of Joel from the Old Breton personal name Iudhael. The personal name was seemingly reintroduced into Britain from France in the 17th century by Huguenots, and was common in Devon and Cornwall and the Breton districts of Yorkshire and the eastern counties.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Dewell has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 35,487 and fell to 37,792 in 2010, representing a 6.5% drop. The count of people with this last name also decreased from 600 in 2000 to 588 in 2010, a reduction of 2%. Consequently, the proportion per 100,000 people also fell by 9.09%, from 0.22 to 0.20.

20002010Change
Rank#35,487#37,792-6.5%
Count600588-2%
Proportion per 100k0.220.2-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dewell

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts within the Dewell surname. In 2000, 96.17% identified as White, but this decreased to 94.05% in 2010. Those identifying as Hispanic increased from 1.33% to 2.04% during the same period. Similarly, the percentage of Dewells identifying as two or more races saw a significant increase from 1% in 2000 to 2.55% in 2010. In contrast, those identifying as Black dropped from 1.33% in 2000 to zero in 2010. Notably, there was an introduction of Asian/Pacific Islander identification at 0.85% in 2010, while American Indian and Alaskan Native identification remained at 0% for both years.

20002010Change
White96.17%94.05%-2.2%
Two or More Races1%2.55%155%
Hispanic1.33%2.04%53.38%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.85%0%
Black1.33%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%