2000
#2,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,634
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.68
Uncommon Last name
Belanger
A French occupational surname referring to a baker or someone who managed communal ovens.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,881 Americans carry the last name Belanger. That puts it at #2,899 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,692 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Belanger 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
14K
1 in 24,692
Census rank
#2,899
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,105 bearers of the surname Belanger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2899th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Belanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Belanger
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Belanger
Among Census respondents with the surname Belanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Belanger 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 Belanger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 11,098
- Two or more races3.3% · 395
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 339
- Black or African American0.8% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 85
Timeline
Historical Census data for Belanger
Belanger 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
#2,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,922
+288 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 4.38
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#2,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,105
-817 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 4.05
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,628 | 12,634 | 4.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,793 | 12,922 | 4.38 | +288 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #2,899 | 12,105 | 4.05 | -817 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 106 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 Belanger 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 | #2,793 | #2,899 | -3.8% |
| Count | 12,922 | 12,105 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.38 | 4.05 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Belanger bearers went from 12,922 to 12,105 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,793 to #2,899.
FAQ
Belanger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Belanger?
Name Census estimates that about 13,881 living Americans carry the surname Belanger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,692 residents.
How common is Belanger?
Belanger ranks #2,899 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,105 people with the surname Belanger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,881), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Belanger.
Has Belanger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Belanger went from 12,922 recorded bearers to 12,105. That is a decrease of 817 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,793 to #2,899.
What does the Census say about the background of Belanger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Belanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Belanger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (11,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Belanger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Belanger (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 Belanger mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a baker or someone who managed communal ovens. 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 Belanger (4.05 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 Belanger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.