2000
#33,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 649
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Camus
A surname derived from the French word for crooked, referring to someone with a physical deformity or disability.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 824 Americans carry the last name Camus. That puts it at #34,023 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 415,964 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Camus 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
824
1 in 415,964
Census rank
#34,023
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
719
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 719 bearers of the surname Camus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34023rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Camus, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Camus
The surname Camus originated from France, specifically the Normandy region. It first appeared in records during the early Middle Ages, around the 11th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old French word "camus," meaning "flat-nosed" or "snub-nosed." This descriptor likely referred to a distinctive facial feature of an early bearer of the name.
Camus is believed to have emerged as a surname during the wave of surname adoption that occurred in France after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. As the new aristocratic class sought to solidify their identities, many surnames were derived from physical characteristics, occupations, or places of origin.
The earliest known record of the Camus surname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and wealth commissioned by William the Conqueror. This entry suggests that the Camus name was already established in Normandy before the conquest.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the Camus surname was Raoul Camus, a Norman lord who lived in the 12th century and participated in the Third Crusade (1189-1192). Another notable early bearer was Guillaume Camus, a French nobleman and military commander who served under King Philip IV (1268-1314).
During the Middle Ages, the Camus name also appeared in various spellings, such as Camus, Camus, and Cammus, reflecting the flexible nature of surname spelling at the time. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the place names from which certain branches of the family originated.
In the 16th century, Jean Camus (1584-1629) was a French jurist and author who served as the Lieutenant General of the Bailiwick of Calais. Another famous bearer was the French philosopher and writer Albert Camus (1913-1960), who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 for his significant literary works, including "The Stranger" and "The Plague."
Other notable individuals with the Camus surname include Jean-Pierre Camus (1584-1652), a French theologian and bishop; Armand Gaston Camus (1740-1804), a French mathematician and philosopher; and Georges Camus (1914-2008), a French politician and member of the Resistance during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Camus
Among Census respondents with the surname Camus, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Camus 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 Camus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.8% · 473
- Hispanic or Latino17.8% · 128
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.9% · 71
- Two or more races5.0% · 36
- Black or African American0.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Camus
Camus 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
#32,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 710
+61 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 810 places
2020
#34,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 719
+9 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 1,627 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,206 | 649 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,396 | 710 | 0.24 | +61 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 810 places |
| 2020 | #34,023 | 719 | 0.24 | +9 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 1,627 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 Camus 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 | #32,396 | #34,023 | -5.0% |
| Count | 710 | 719 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Camus bearers went from 710 to 719 (+1.3% change). The surname moved down 1,627 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,396 to #34,023.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Camus
FAQ
Camus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Camus?
Name Census estimates that about 824 living Americans carry the surname Camus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 415,964 residents.
How common is Camus?
Camus ranks #34,023 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.24 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 719 people with the surname Camus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (824), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.24 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 Camus.
Has Camus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Camus went from 710 recorded bearers to 719. That is an increase of 9 (+1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,396 to #34,023.
What does the Census say about the background of Camus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Camus, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%). 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 Camus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (473 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Camus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.8%), Hispanic (17.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.9%). 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 Camus (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 Camus mean?
A surname derived from the French word for crooked, referring to someone with a physical deformity or disability. 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 Camus (0.24 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 Camus?
You can see how many people are called Camus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.