2000
#13,522
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Audet
A French occupational surname referring to someone who listened or heard, derived from the Old French verb "oudir".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,320 Americans carry the last name Audet. That puts it at #14,247 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,739 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Audet 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
2.3K
1 in 147,739
Census rank
#14,247
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,023 bearers of the surname Audet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14247th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Audet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Audet
The surname "AUDET" is of French origin, originating from the Normandy region of France in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "audait," meaning "bold" or "daring." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who exhibited these characteristics.
The earliest recorded mention of the Audet name can be found in the Cartulaire de Louviers, a medieval cartulary from the 12th century, where it appears as "Audez." This indicates that the name was already in use by this time period in the Normandy region.
During the Middle Ages, the Audet family was established in the village of Audet, located in the department of Eure in Normandy. This village likely took its name from an early bearer of the Audet surname, further cementing the connection between the name and the region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Audet surname was Jean Audet, who lived in the village of Audet in the late 13th century. Records from this time period often refer to him as "Jean d'Audet," indicating his connection to the village.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various manuscripts and records throughout Normandy, such as the Livre des Bourgeois d'Évreux, which mentions a Guillaume Audet in 1363.
As the Audet family spread throughout France and eventually to other parts of the world, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, includingAudette, Audait, and Audez.
Notable individuals with the Audet surname include:
1. Robert Audet (1587-1661), a French merchant and colonist who settled in Quebec, Canada, in the early 17th century.
2. Marie Audet (1638-1703), one of the first French settlers in the Canadian province of Acadia, now Nova Scotia.
3. Pierre Audet (1745-1824), a French-Canadian farmer and landowner in Quebec.
4. Louis-Philippe Audet (1838-1920), a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.
5. Noël Audet (1904-1981), a French-Canadian painter and sculptor known for his religious works of art.
While the Audet name has its roots in medieval France, it has since spread worldwide, with bearers of the surname found in various countries, including Canada, the United States, and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Audet
Among Census respondents with the surname Audet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Audet 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 Audet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,866
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 70
- Two or more races2.5% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Audet
Audet 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
#13,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,173
+112 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 371 places
2020
#14,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,023
-150 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 354 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,522 | 2,061 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,893 | 2,173 | 0.74 | +112 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 371 places |
| 2020 | #14,247 | 2,023 | 0.68 | -150 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 354 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 Audet 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 | #13,893 | #14,247 | -2.5% |
| Count | 2,173 | 2,023 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.68 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Audet bearers went from 2,173 to 2,023 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 354 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,893 to #14,247.
FAQ
Audet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Audet?
Name Census estimates that about 2,320 living Americans carry the surname Audet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,739 residents.
How common is Audet?
Audet ranks #14,247 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,023 people with the surname Audet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,320), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Audet.
Has Audet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Audet went from 2,173 recorded bearers to 2,023. That is a decrease of 150 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,893 to #14,247.
What does the Census say about the background of Audet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Audet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Audet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,866 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Audet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Audet (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 Audet mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who listened or heard, derived from the Old French verb "oudir". 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 Audet (0.68 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 Audet?
If you just want to know how many people are called Audet, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.