2000
#3,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,336
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.83
Uncommon Last name
Beaulieu
A French topographic surname referring to someone living in a beautiful place or a pleasant location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,807 Americans carry the last name Beaulieu. That puts it at #3,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,030 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beaulieu 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
12K
1 in 29,030
Census rank
#3,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,296 bearers of the surname Beaulieu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beaulieu, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beaulieu
The surname Beaulieu originated in France, deriving from the Old French words "beau" meaning beautiful and "lieu" meaning place. It emerged during the medieval period, likely first appearing as a toponymic surname given to someone who hailed from a location bearing this name.
Beaulieu is found in various regions across France, with notable place names including Beaulieu-sur-Mer in Provence and Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne in the Corrèze department. These place names reflect the scenic beauty of these areas, which may have inspired the surname's meaning.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Beaulieu can be found in the Dives-sur-Mer cartulary, a medieval manuscript from Normandy dating back to the 11th century. This document mentions a person named Radulfus de Bello Loco, a Latin form of the surname.
In England, the Domesday Book of 1086 lists a landholder named Rainaldus de Bellu, which is believed to be an early variant of the surname Beaulieu. This suggests that the name may have been introduced to England shortly after the Norman Conquest.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Beaulieu include Étienne Beaulieu (1240-1314), a French philosopher and theologian; Jean-Pierre Beaulieu (1725-1805), a French architect responsible for several notable buildings in Paris; and Sébastien Beaulieu (1703-1774), a French engraver and illustrator whose works depicted various historical events and figures.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Beaulieu was Mathieu Beaulieu, a French settler who arrived in Louisiana in the early 18th century and became one of the first European inhabitants of the region.
Another notable figure was Eustache Beaulieu (1702-1771), a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer who was one of the first Europeans to extensively travel and map the Rocky Mountains region in what is now western Canada and the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beaulieu
Among Census respondents with the surname Beaulieu, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Beaulieu 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 Beaulieu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 8,837
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 390
- Two or more races3.7% · 376
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 307
- Black or African American2.9% · 302
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 84
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beaulieu
Beaulieu 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
#3,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,695
+359 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 3.63
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#3,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,296
-399 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 3.44
Rank movement Down 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,184 | 10,336 | 3.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,349 | 10,695 | 3.63 | +359 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #3,395 | 10,296 | 3.44 | -399 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 46 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 Beaulieu 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 | #3,349 | #3,395 | -1.4% |
| Count | 10,695 | 10,296 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.63 | 3.44 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beaulieu bearers went from 10,695 to 10,296 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,349 to #3,395.
FAQ
Beaulieu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beaulieu?
Name Census estimates that about 11,807 living Americans carry the surname Beaulieu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,030 residents.
How common is Beaulieu?
Beaulieu ranks #3,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.44 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 10,296 people with the surname Beaulieu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,807), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.44 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 Beaulieu.
Has Beaulieu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beaulieu went from 10,695 recorded bearers to 10,296. That is a decrease of 399 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,349 to #3,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Beaulieu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beaulieu, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Beaulieu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (8,837 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beaulieu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Beaulieu (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 Beaulieu mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone living in a beautiful place or a pleasant location. 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 Beaulieu (3.44 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 Beaulieu?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.