# Degen (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/degen/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from German.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,997 |
| US rank (2010) | 14,838 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 154,605 people |
| Change since 2000 | +11% (1,807 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a German and Alemannic German surname, from the noun Degen (“boy warrior, hero”). * As a German and Dutch surname, shortened from names like Degenhard, Degenhold, etc., with the same meaning as the above. In isolated cases it can also be from Degen (“rapier”), for someone who made or wore such weapons, and from Middle High German dechen (“dean”, modern German Dechant).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Degen in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 94% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 0.9% |

## Similar surnames

Dejean, Dodgen, Deegan, Desena, Dixon, Dawson, Dickson, Dugan, Duggan, Dyson, Dizon, Deason.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.