Find out how popular the last name Bélanger is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bélanger.

Bélanger, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bélanger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bélanger in America

Bélanger is the 2793rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bélanger surname appeared 12,922 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Bélanger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bélanger to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bélanger

The surname Belanger has its origins in France and dates back to the early medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old French words "bel" meaning "beautiful" and "anger" meaning "meadow" or "pasture." The name was likely given to someone who lived near a picturesque meadow or pasture.

Belanger was first found in the region of Normandy in northern France. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a vast survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Here, the name is spelled "Bellanger."

In the 13th century, the name Belanger can be found in several documents from the region of Poitou in western France. One notable example is Gilles Belanger, a knight who fought in the Crusades and died in battle in 1248.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name spread throughout France and into neighboring regions. In 1427, a man named Jean Belanger was recorded as a merchant in the city of Bordeaux. Around the same time, a family by the name of Belanger owned land in the village of Beaumont-sur-Oise, northeast of Paris.

As the Belanger family grew and spread, variations in spelling emerged, including Bellanger, Belenger, and Bellenger. In 1512, a man named Pierre Bellanger was a prominent lawyer and legal advisor to King Louis XII of France.

Another notable figure was Michel Belanger, a French explorer and cartographer who accompanied Samuel de Champlain on several voyages to North America in the early 17th century. Belanger helped map the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes region.

Throughout the centuries, the Belanger name has been carried by numerous individuals across various professions and walks of life. Some examples include Jacques Belanger, a 17th-century playwright and author; Marie-Louise Belanger, an 18th-century painter known for her portraits and religious works; and Jean-Baptiste Belanger, a 19th-century architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bélanger

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bélanger.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bélanger was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bélanger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bélanger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bélanger, please contact us.

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