Lajeune
A variant spelling of the French word "la jeune" meaning "the young one".
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Lajeune. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lajeune today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lajeune births was 1960 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lajeune. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lajeune. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1960
17 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1962 SSA rank
#7,070
Tracked since 1960
Popularity
Lajeune: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Lajeune by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lajeune during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 29 | 29 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Lajeune
The given name Lajeune has its origins in the French language, with the literal translation meaning "the young." This name can be traced back to the Middle Ages in France, where it was likely used as a descriptive nickname or surname for someone who was either young in age or had a youthful appearance.
In the early Renaissance period, around the 15th and 16th centuries, Lajeune began to gain popularity as a given name, particularly among the French nobility and upper classes. During this time, it was not uncommon for aristocratic families to adopt unique and distinctive names as a way to distinguish themselves from commoners.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lajeune can be found in the writings of the French philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne, who lived from 1533 to 1592. In his famous work, "Essays," Montaigne makes a passing reference to a character named Lajeune, although the context and details surrounding this mention are unclear.
In the 17th century, a notable figure with the name Lajeune was François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, who lived from 1641 to 1691. Louvois was a French statesman and served as the Secretary of State for War under King Louis XIV, playing a significant role in the military reforms and expansionist policies of that era.
Another individual of historical significance was Étienne-Marie Lajeunesse, a French-Canadian explorer and fur trader who lived from 1780 to 1849. Lajeunesse was a prominent figure in the early fur trade in the Canadian Northwest and was known for his expeditions and travels across the vast wilderness regions of what is now Western Canada and the United States.
In the 19th century, a notable figure with the name Lajeune was Édouard Lajeunesse, a French painter who lived from 1828 to 1898. Lajeunesse was part of the Barbizon School of painters, a group of artists who focused on depicting the rural landscapes and scenes of the Fontainebleau forest near Paris.
Finally, in the 20th century, there was Pierre Lajeune, a French film director and screenwriter who lived from 1928 to 2012. Lajeune was known for his work in the French New Wave cinema movement and directed several critically acclaimed films, including "The Critic" and "The Hunchback."
People
Lajeune + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lajeune as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lajeune: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lajeune?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lajeune going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Lajeune a common name?
We classify Lajeune as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lajeune most popular?
The single biggest year for Lajeune was 1960, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lajeune is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lajeune in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lajeune a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lajeune in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lajeune still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lajeune in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lajeune can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Lajeune?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.