2000
#3,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,539
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.17
Rare Last name
Arsenault
A French occupational surname referring to someone who crafted or sold saddles, harnesses, or other equestrian equipment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,449 Americans carry the last name Arsenault. That puts it at #4,161 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,274 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arsenault surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,274
Census rank
#4,161
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,240 bearers of the surname Arsenault in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4161st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenault, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arsenault
The surname Arsenault originated in France, specifically in the region of Brittany. It is derived from the Old French words "ars" meaning "burned" and "nault" meaning "clearing." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a burned clearing or worked as a charcoal burner.
The earliest recorded instances of the Arsenault surname date back to the late 16th century in the Brittany region of France. Some variations in spelling include Arseneau, Arseneault, and Arseneau. The name is also found in archival records from the 17th and 18th centuries in the region.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean Arsenault, who was born around 1625 in Brittany. He later migrated to Acadia (present-day Maritime provinces of Canada) in the mid-1600s, where the name became more widespread among French settlers.
Another notable figure was Olivier Arsenault, born in 1662 in Port-Royal, Acadia (now Nova Scotia, Canada). He was one of the first Acadians to use the Arsenault surname and had several children, contributing to the name's proliferation in the region.
In the 18th century, during the Acadian Expulsion, many Arsenault families were displaced from their homes in Acadia and relocated to various parts of North America, including Louisiana, where the name remains prominent today.
One of the most famous individuals with the Arsenault surname was Gabriel Arsenault (1879-1966), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons and as a Senator.
Another notable figure was Aurèle Arsenault (1870-1956), a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools and colleges in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
In literature, the Arsenault name appears in works such as "Évangéline" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which depicts the story of the Acadian Expulsion and features characters with the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arsenault
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenault, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Arsenault bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Arsenault surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 7,628
- Two or more races3.5% · 290
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 66
- Black or African American0.3% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arsenault
Arsenault appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,052
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,760
+221 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.97
Rank movement Down 238 places
2020
#4,161
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,240
-520 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Down 109 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,814 | 8,539 | 3.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,052 | 8,760 | 2.97 | +221 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 238 places |
| 2020 | #4,161 | 8,240 | 2.76 | -520 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 109 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Arsenault surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,052 | #4,161 | -2.7% |
| Count | 8,760 | 8,240 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.97 | 2.76 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arsenault bearers went from 8,760 to 8,240 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 109 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,052 to #4,161.
FAQ
Arsenault surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arsenault?
Name Census estimates that about 9,449 living Americans carry the surname Arsenault. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,274 residents.
How common is Arsenault?
Arsenault ranks #4,161 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,240 people with the surname Arsenault. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,449), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Arsenault.
Has Arsenault become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arsenault went from 8,760 recorded bearers to 8,240. That is a decrease of 520 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,052 to #4,161.
What does the Census say about the background of Arsenault?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenault, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Arsenault in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (7,628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arsenault appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Arsenault (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Arsenault mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who crafted or sold saddles, harnesses, or other equestrian equipment. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Arsenault (2.76 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Arsenault?
See how common the surname Arsenault is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.