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

Coard, 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 Coard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coard in America

Coard is the 40909th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coard surname appeared 533 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 Coard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coard 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 Coard

The surname Coard originates from the south of France, specifically in the Languedoc region. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th century and is derived from the Occitan word "coard," meaning "coward." This term was often used as a nickname or a descriptive name for someone perceived as timid or lacking courage.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Coard can be traced back to the town of Carcassonne in the Aude department of southern France. In the late 13th century, a man named Guilhem Coard was mentioned in local records as a landowner and vintner. Another early reference is found in the 1328 tax records of the nearby town of Narbonne, where a Pere Coard is listed as a merchant.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the surname Coard began to spread across the Languedoc region and into neighboring areas, such as Provence and Roussillon. In the 1437 census of the village of Castelnou, a family headed by Jacme Coard is recorded as residents.

One notable individual bearing the surname Coard was Jean Coard, a 16th-century philosopher and author from Montpellier. Born in 1523, he wrote several treatises on ethics and morality, including "De la Vertu et du Courage" (On Virtue and Courage), which ironically addressed the very concept that may have given rise to his surname.

Another prominent figure was Antoine Coard, a 17th-century military officer who served in the French army during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He was born in 1602 in Béziers and rose to the rank of colonel, leading troops in several battles against the Spanish and Imperial forces.

In the 18th century, a Jesuit priest named Étienne Coard gained recognition for his missionary work in the French colonies of the Caribbean. Born in Nîmes in 1712, he spent several decades in Martinique and Guadeloupe, where he established schools and churches.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the surname Coard began to appear in records from other parts of France, indicating that some families had migrated from the Languedoc region. One such example is Pierre Coard, a merchant from Lyon born in 1778, who is mentioned in documents related to the city's silk trade.

As the Coard surname continued to spread throughout France and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, including Couard, Coart, and Couart. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects, scribal errors, or attempts to distance the name from its potentially unflattering original meaning.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coard

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

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

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

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