2000
#14,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,917
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Barbeau
A French occupational surname referring to a fisherman or boatman, derived from "barbe," meaning "barbel" (a type of fish).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,996 Americans carry the last name Barbeau. That puts it at #16,084 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 171,721 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barbeau 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
2.0K
1 in 171,721
Census rank
#16,084
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,741 bearers of the surname Barbeau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16084th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barbeau
The surname Barbeau originated in France, specifically from the northern regions of the country. It first appeared during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "barbeau," which means "barbel," a type of freshwater fish found in European rivers. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, referring to someone who caught or traded in barbel fish.
One of the earliest known records of the Barbeau name can be found in the Ecclesiastical Rolls of Normandy, dated around 1300. The name is also mentioned in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Redon, a medieval cartulary from the Redon Abbey in Brittany, dating back to the 13th century.
In the 16th century, Jacques Barbeau (1540-1624) was a renowned French jurist and legal scholar. He served as a counselor in the Parliament of Paris and authored several influential works on French law.
Another notable figure with this surname was Jean Barbeau (1675-1742), a French explorer and fur trader who played a significant role in the early exploration and settlement of New France (present-day Canada). He established trading posts along the Great Lakes region and was instrumental in fostering relationships with Native American tribes.
In the realm of art, Jacques Barbeau (1738-1826) was a French painter known for his landscapes and pastoral scenes. His works were exhibited at the Paris Salon and are currently held in various museum collections across France.
Moving to the 19th century, Auguste Barbeau (1805-1882) was a prominent French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin and the Église Saint-Ambroise.
In the early 20th century, Charles-Marius Barbeau (1889-1969) was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist. He dedicated his life to studying and preserving the cultural traditions of First Nations and French-Canadian communities, publishing numerous works and contributing to the establishment of the National Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History) in Ottawa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barbeau
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Barbeau 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 Barbeau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 1,562
- Two or more races3.9% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 25
- Black or African American0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barbeau
Barbeau 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
#14,991
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,971
+54 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 663 places
2020
#16,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,741
-230 bearers (-11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 1,093 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,328 | 1,917 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,991 | 1,971 | 0.67 | +54 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 663 places |
| 2020 | #16,084 | 1,741 | 0.58 | -230 bearers (-11.7%) | Down 1,093 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 Barbeau 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 | #14,991 | #16,084 | -7.3% |
| Count | 1,971 | 1,741 | -11.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.58 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barbeau bearers went from 1,971 to 1,741 (-11.7% change). The surname moved down 1,093 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,991 to #16,084.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Barbeau
FAQ
Barbeau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barbeau?
Name Census estimates that about 1,996 living Americans carry the surname Barbeau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 171,721 residents.
How common is Barbeau?
Barbeau ranks #16,084 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.58 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 1,741 people with the surname Barbeau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,996), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.58 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 Barbeau.
Has Barbeau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barbeau went from 1,971 recorded bearers to 1,741. That is a decrease of 230 (-11.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,991 to #16,084.
What does the Census say about the background of Barbeau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Barbeau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (1,562 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barbeau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Barbeau (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 Barbeau mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a fisherman or boatman, derived from "barbe," meaning "barbel" (a type of fish). 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 Barbeau (0.58 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 share the surname Barbeau?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.