2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bulliard
A French surname derived from the Old French word "bouillir" meaning "to boil".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Bulliard. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bulliard 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Bulliard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bulliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bulliard
The surname Bulliard originated in France, and its earliest records can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "bulie," which referred to a small hillock or mound, suggesting that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or on a small hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bulliard surname can be found in the "Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Montiers-en-Argonne," a medieval cartulary (collection of charters) from the Argonne region of northeastern France, where a certain "Guillelmus Bulliardus" is mentioned in a document dated 1192.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various local records and manuscripts from the Champagne and Burgundy regions of France. For example, a "Petrus Bulliardus" is recorded as a witness in a charter from the town of Sens, dated 1237.
The Bulliard surname also has a connection to several place names in France, such as Bulliardes, a commune in the Haute-Saône department, and Bulliar, a small village in the Jura department. These place names likely derived from the same root as the surname, indicating that the Bulliard family may have originated from or held land in these areas.
One notable bearer of the Bulliard surname was Pierre Bulliard (1752-1793), a French botanist and mycologist who made significant contributions to the study of fungi. His work, "Herbier de la France," published in 1780-1793, included detailed illustrations and descriptions of various fungal species.
Another Bulliard of note was Jean-Baptiste Bulliard (1699-1768), a French engraver and illustrator known for his intricate engravings of botanical subjects and natural history illustrations.
In the 19th century, the Bulliard surname can be found in various records from different regions of France, including a "Louis Bulliard," born in 1822 in the town of Épinal, in the Vosges department, and a "Marie Bulliard," born in 1849 in the commune of Louhans, in the Saône-et-Loire department.
Moving into the 20th century, one notable figure with the Bulliard surname was Roger Bulliard (1920-1999), a French actor and playwright who appeared in numerous films and television productions throughout his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bulliard
Among Census respondents with the surname Bulliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Bulliard 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 Bulliard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bulliard
Bulliard appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-10 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,287 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 6,287 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 Bulliard 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 | #149,395 | #155,682 | -4.2% |
| Count | 110 | 100 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bulliard bearers went from 110 to 100 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 6,287 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #155,682.
FAQ
Bulliard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bulliard?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Bulliard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Bulliard?
Bulliard ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Bulliard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Bulliard.
Has Bulliard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bulliard went from 110 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 10 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Bulliard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bulliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Bulliard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bulliard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Hispanic (2.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Bulliard (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 Bulliard mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "bouillir" meaning "to boil". 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 Bulliard (0.03 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 Bulliard?
You can see how common the surname Bulliard is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.