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

Bissonette, 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 Bissonette surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bissonette in America

Bissonette is the 19242nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bissonette surname appeared 1,409 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bissonette.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bissonette 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 Bissonette

The surname Bissonette is of French origin, dating back to the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old French word "bisson," meaning "gray" or "brownish," and was likely initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with grayish hair or a swarthy complexion.

The earliest known records of the Bissonette name can be found in the province of Normandy, France, where it was spelled variations such as "Bisson" and "Bissonnet." The surname is believed to have made its way to North America with early French settlers and colonists, particularly those who settled in the regions of Quebec and Acadia.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bissonette name in North America can be found in the 1666 census of the town of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, where a man named Jacques Bissonnet is listed as a resident. Another early record is from 1680, when a man named Pierre Bissonnet was granted land in the seigneurie of Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.

Over the centuries, the Bissonette surname has been associated with several notable individuals. In the late 18th century, Joseph Bissonette was a fur trader and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Canadian West and the American Northwest. He was born in 1766 in Trois-Rivières and died in 1832.

In the 19th century, Edouard Bissonette (1815-1884) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Quebec, serving as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and later as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.

Another notable figure with the Bissonette surname was Joseph Bissonette (1873-1950), a French-Canadian author and poet who was born in Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan, Quebec. He published several collections of poetry and was known for his works celebrating the rural life and landscapes of Quebec.

In the realm of sports, Patrice Bissonette (born 1970) was a professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for teams such as the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1989 and 2001.

More recently, Lise Bissonette (born 1955) is a Canadian writer and journalist who has authored several books on various topics, including personal finance and self-help.

While the Bissonette surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through the migration of French settlers and their descendants. Today, it remains a relatively uncommon surname but can be found among individuals of French-Canadian ancestry and those with connections to the regions of Quebec and Acadia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bissonette

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

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 Bissonette 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 Bissonette 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 Bissonette was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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