2000
#11,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,532
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Audette
A French surname derived from the Old French word "Oudet," meaning "wealth" or "fortune."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,792 Americans carry the last name Audette. That puts it at #12,202 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Audette 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
2.8K
1 in 122,763
Census rank
#12,202
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,435 bearers of the surname Audette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12202nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Audette, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Audette
The surname Audette has its roots in France, originating in the northern region of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It is believed to derive from the Old French word "audett," which translates to "bold" or "daring." This name likely emerged as a descriptive nickname for someone who exhibited courage or bravery.
Records from the 11th and 12th centuries indicate that the Audette family held lands and estates in the vicinity of Caen, a city in the Calvados department of Normandy. The earliest documented instance of the name appears in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Étienne de Caen, a collection of charters and deeds from the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, dated around 1150.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Audette was Gervais Audette, a Norman knight who participated in the Seventh Crusade led by King Louis IX of France. Gervais Audette is mentioned in the chronicles of Jean de Joinville, a medieval historian and biographer of Louis IX.
During the 16th century, the Audette family expanded their presence to other regions of France, with branches establishing themselves in Brittany and Poitou. One notable individual from this era was Jacques Audette, a merchant and ship owner from the port city of La Rochelle, who lived from 1525 to 1598.
In the 17th century, the name Audette appeared in the records of the colony of New France (modern-day Canada). One of the earliest settlers with this surname was Pierre Audette, who arrived in Quebec City in 1665 from the village of Audette near Caen. Pierre Audette became a prominent figure in the fur trade and established a family lineage that continues to this day in Canada.
Another significant figure associated with the Audette name was Marie-Anne Audette, a French-Canadian woman born in 1682 in Quebec City. She is renowned for her involvement in the defense of the city during the siege by the British in 1690, where she reportedly displayed remarkable courage and leadership.
Over the centuries, the Audette surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Audett, Audette, Audete, and Audet, reflecting regional linguistic variations and the difficulties of standardized spelling in earlier eras.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Audette
Among Census respondents with the surname Audette, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Audette 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 Audette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,261
- Two or more races3.2% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Audette
Audette 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
#11,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,654
+122 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 383 places
2020
#12,202
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,435
-219 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 403 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,416 | 2,532 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,799 | 2,654 | 0.90 | +122 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 383 places |
| 2020 | #12,202 | 2,435 | 0.81 | -219 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 403 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 Audette 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 | #11,799 | #12,202 | -3.4% |
| Count | 2,654 | 2,435 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.81 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Audette bearers went from 2,654 to 2,435 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 403 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,799 to #12,202.
FAQ
Audette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Audette?
Name Census estimates that about 2,792 living Americans carry the surname Audette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,763 residents.
How common is Audette?
Audette ranks #12,202 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,435 people with the surname Audette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,792), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Audette.
Has Audette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Audette went from 2,654 recorded bearers to 2,435. That is a decrease of 219 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,799 to #12,202.
What does the Census say about the background of Audette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Audette, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Audette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,261 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Audette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Audette (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 Audette mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "Oudet," meaning "wealth" or "fortune." 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 Audette (0.81 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 many people have the surname Audette?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.