2000
#12,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,175
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Cousineau
A French toponymic surname indicating someone from any of various places in France named Coussinet or Coussinot.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,579 Americans carry the last name Cousineau. That puts it at #13,040 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,902 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cousineau 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
2.6K
1 in 132,902
Census rank
#13,040
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,249 bearers of the surname Cousineau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13040th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cousineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cousineau
The surname Cousineau has its origins in France, tracing back to the medieval era. It is a French patronymic name derived from the Old French word "cousin," meaning cousin or relative. The name likely emerged as a way to identify individuals by their familial relationships within a community.
Cousineau is a variant spelling of the more common French surname Cousin. The addition of the suffix "-eau" was a common practice in certain regions of France, particularly in the northern and central areas. This suffix often denoted a diminutive form or a nickname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cousineau can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 12th century. This document mentions a certain "Robertus Cousineau," indicating the presence of the surname in the region of Chartres during that time period.
In the 13th century, records from the Trésor des Chartes in Paris mention a "Jehan Cousineau" from the village of Bray-sur-Somme in northern France. This suggests that the name was well-established in various parts of the country by that time.
One notable figure bearing the surname Cousineau was Jacques Cousineau, a French Jesuit missionary who lived from 1625 to 1687. He spent many years in New France (now Canada) working among the Indigenous populations, particularly the Huron people.
Another historical figure was Pierre Cousineau, a French soldier and explorer who was born in 1655 and died in 1719. He was part of the expedition led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, which explored the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico region in the late 17th century.
In the 18th century, the name Cousineau appeared in various records associated with the Acadian expulsion from what is now eastern Canada. Some Acadians with the surname Cousineau were deported to various British colonies along the Atlantic coast.
The surname Cousineau can also be traced back to several place names in France, such as Coussineau, a small village in the department of Eure-et-Loir, and Cousinat, a hamlet in the department of Puy-de-Dôme. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
Other notable individuals with the surname Cousineau include Jean-Baptiste Cousineau, a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer who lived from 1730 to 1799, and François-Xavier Cousineau, a Canadian artist and painter born in 1828 and known for his landscapes and portraits.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cousineau
Among Census respondents with the surname Cousineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cousineau 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 Cousineau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 2,104
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 69
- Two or more races2.4% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cousineau
Cousineau 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
#13,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,240
+65 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 599 places
2020
#13,040
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,249
+9 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,942 | 2,175 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,541 | 2,240 | 0.76 | +65 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 599 places |
| 2020 | #13,040 | 2,249 | 0.75 | +9 bearers (+0.4%) | Up 501 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 Cousineau 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 | #13,541 | #13,040 | 3.7% |
| Count | 2,240 | 2,249 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.75 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cousineau bearers went from 2,240 to 2,249 (+0.4% change). The surname moved up 501 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,541 to #13,040.
FAQ
Cousineau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cousineau?
Name Census estimates that about 2,579 living Americans carry the surname Cousineau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,902 residents.
How common is Cousineau?
Cousineau ranks #13,040 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,249 people with the surname Cousineau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,579), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cousineau.
Has Cousineau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cousineau went from 2,240 recorded bearers to 2,249. That is an increase of 9 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,541 to #13,040.
What does the Census say about the background of Cousineau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cousineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Cousineau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (2,104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cousineau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Cousineau (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 Cousineau mean?
A French toponymic surname indicating someone from any of various places in France named Coussinet or Coussinot. 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 Cousineau (0.75 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 share the surname Cousineau?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.