2000
#2,190
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,240
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.65
Uncommon Last name
Boudreaux
A French habitational surname referring to someone from any of several places called Boudreaux in northern France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,845 Americans carry the last name Boudreaux. That puts it at #2,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,207 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boudreaux 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
18K
1 in 19,207
Census rank
#2,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,562 bearers of the surname Boudreaux in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudreaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boudreaux
The surname Boudreaux has its origins in France, specifically in the northern regions of the country. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old French words "bou" and "dreau," which together translate to "little stream" or "small brook." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived near a small body of water or established a settlement along a stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Boudreaux name can be traced back to the Normandy region of France. In the late 14th century, a man named Jean Boudreaux was mentioned in a local census record from the town of Rouen. This document provides valuable insight into the presence of the name in the region during that time period.
The Boudreaux surname has also been linked to various place names in France, such as Boudreaux-sur-Mer, a small village located in the department of Charente-Maritime. It is possible that the name originated from this or a similar location, with families adopting the place name as their surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the Boudreaux surname. One prominent figure was Pierre Boudreaux (1612-1678), a French explorer and cartographer who played a significant role in mapping the Mississippi River and the surrounding regions of what is now the southern United States.
Another notable Boudreaux was Marie-Josephe Boudreaux (1734-1812), a French nun and philanthropist who dedicated her life to caring for the poor and establishing orphanages in the city of Lyon.
In the realm of literature, Émile Boudreaux (1869-1941) was a renowned French poet and novelist known for his works that celebrated the beauty of the French countryside and the lives of rural communities.
The Boudreaux name also made its mark in the military, with Jean-Baptiste Boudreaux (1792-1865), a French general who served under Napoleon Bonaparte and played a crucial role in several battles during the Napoleonic Wars.
Lastly, Élise Boudreaux (1887-1973) was a French-born American philanthropist and socialite who was actively involved in various charitable organizations and played a prominent role in the cultural and social circles of New Orleans, where she lived for many years.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boudreaux
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudreaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Boudreaux 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 Boudreaux surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 12,814
- Black or African American9.8% · 1,525
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 541
- Two or more races3.2% · 496
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 126
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boudreaux
Boudreaux 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
#2,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,976
+736 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 5.42
Rank movement Down 92 places
2020
#2,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,562
-414 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 5.21
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,190 | 15,240 | 5.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,282 | 15,976 | 5.42 | +736 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 92 places |
| 2020 | #2,285 | 15,562 | 5.21 | -414 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 3 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 Boudreaux 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 | #2,282 | #2,285 | -0.1% |
| Count | 15,976 | 15,562 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.42 | 5.21 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boudreaux bearers went from 15,976 to 15,562 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,282 to #2,285.
FAQ
Boudreaux surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boudreaux?
Name Census estimates that about 17,845 living Americans carry the surname Boudreaux. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,207 residents.
How common is Boudreaux?
Boudreaux ranks #2,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,562 people with the surname Boudreaux. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,845), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Boudreaux.
Has Boudreaux become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boudreaux went from 15,976 recorded bearers to 15,562. That is a decrease of 414 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,282 to #2,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Boudreaux?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudreaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Boudreaux in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (12,814 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boudreaux appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.3%), Black (9.8%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Boudreaux (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 Boudreaux mean?
A French habitational surname referring to someone from any of several places called Boudreaux in northern 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 Boudreaux (5.21 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 common is the surname Boudreaux?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Boudreaux is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.