2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Betrand
A French surname derived from the personal name Bertrand, meaning "bright raven".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Betrand. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Betrand 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Betrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Betrand, the largest self-reported group is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Hispanic (6.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Betrand
The surname BETRAND originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Bertram, which means "bright raven." The name was introduced to France by the Frankish invaders and eventually became a surname in various regions of the country.
The earliest recorded instance of the name BETRAND can be found in the Domesday Book, a medieval census conducted in England in 1086. This suggests that the name had already spread beyond France by the 11th century.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Bertrand de Born (c. 1140-1215) was a French nobleman and troubadour from the Périgord region. He is renowned for his poems and his role in the Revolt of 1183-1186 against Richard the Lionheart.
Another significant bearer of the surname was Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and social critic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 for his numerous works on philosophy and logic.
The name BETRAND has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the town of Bertrand in Missouri was named after the French explorer and fur trader, René Auguste Betrand (1775-1852).
In the 19th century, Joseph Louis François Bertrand (1822-1900) was a renowned French mathematician and educator. He made significant contributions to the fields of probability theory and differential geometry.
During the 20th century, Alain Bertrand (1932-2015) was a prominent French novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels that explored the complexities of human relationships and societal issues.
The surname BETRAND has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Bertrand, Bertram, Bertran, and Bertrant, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of different areas where the name was adopted.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Betrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Betrand, the largest self-reported group is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Hispanic (6.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Betrand 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 Betrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.0% · 91
- White11.7% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Betrand
Betrand 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+22 bearers (+21.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,651 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-13 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +22 bearers (+21.6%) | Up 12,651 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 13,072 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 Betrand 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 | #135,593 | #148,665 | -9.6% |
| Count | 124 | 111 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Betrand bearers went from 124 to 111 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 13,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #148,665.
FAQ
Betrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Betrand?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Betrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Betrand?
Betrand ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Betrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Betrand.
Has Betrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Betrand went from 124 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Betrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Betrand, the largest self-reported group is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Betrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Betrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (82.0%), White (11.7%), Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Betrand (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 Betrand mean?
A French surname derived from the personal name Bertrand, meaning "bright raven". 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 Betrand (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 surname Betrand?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.