2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Betancour
A toponym denoting someone from any of several places called Betancourt in France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 151 Americans carry the last name Betancour. That puts it at #133,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,269,896 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Betancour 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
151
1 in 2,269,896
Census rank
#133,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
132
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 132 bearers of the surname Betancour in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Betancour, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Betancour
The surname Betancour is of French origin, derived from the Old French words "beau" meaning beautiful and "cour" meaning court or manor. It likely originated in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy, during the 11th or 12th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century, appearing in various historical documents and records from that period. One notable mention is found in the Cartulary of Marmoutier Abbey, where a certain Raoul de Betancour is listed as a landowner in the village of Saint-Martin-du-Vivier in 1263.
In the 14th century, the name gained prominence with the rise of a noble family known as the Betancours, who held lands and titles in the Duchy of Normandy. Sir Robert de Betancour, born in 1312, was a prominent knight and military commander who fought alongside King Edward III of England during the Hundred Years' War.
During the 15th century, the name spread further across France, with branches of the Betancour family establishing themselves in various regions. One notable figure was Jacques de Betancour, a renowned architect and master builder who oversaw the construction of several grand châteaux and churches in the Loire Valley during the Renaissance period.
The name also found its way to other parts of Europe, including Spain and Italy, where it evolved into different spellings such as Betancourt and Betancurti. In Spain, the Betancourt family played a significant role in the exploration and colonization of the Americas, with Diego de Betancourt being one of the early conquistadors who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century.
As the centuries passed, the Betancour surname continued to be associated with notable individuals across various fields. One such person was Louis-Philippe Betancour, a French writer and philosopher who lived in the 18th century and was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment movement.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Marie-Joseph-Eugène Betancour, a 19th-century French engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early mechanical calculators and other innovative machines.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Betancour
Among Census respondents with the surname Betancour, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Betancour 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 Betancour surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.5% · 126
- White3.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Betancour
Betancour 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
#119,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
+23 bearers (+18.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 9,289 places
2020
#133,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
-13 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,712 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #119,508 | 145 | 0.05 | +23 bearers (+18.9%) | Up 9,289 places |
| 2020 | #133,220 | 132 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 13,712 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 Betancour 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 | #119,508 | #133,220 | -11.5% |
| Count | 145 | 132 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Betancour bearers went from 145 to 132 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 13,712 positions in the national ranking, going from #119,508 to #133,220.
FAQ
Betancour surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Betancour?
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the surname Betancour. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,269,896 residents.
How common is Betancour?
Betancour ranks #133,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 132 people with the surname Betancour. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (151), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Betancour.
Has Betancour become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Betancour went from 145 recorded bearers to 132. That is a decrease of 13 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #119,508 to #133,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Betancour?
Among Census respondents with the surname Betancour, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Betancour in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (126 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Betancour appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.5%), White (3.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Betancour (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 Betancour mean?
A toponym denoting someone from any of several places called Betancourt in France. 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 Betancour (0.04 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 last name Betancour?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Betancour? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.