2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Drolette
A French surname derived from the Old French word "drolette" meaning a jester or entertainer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Drolette. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drolette 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Drolette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drolette, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drolette
The surname Drolette has its origins in France, dating back to the early 17th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "drôlette," which means a small or dainty person. This name was likely first used as a nickname or descriptive term before becoming a hereditary surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Drolette name can be found in the parish records of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, a church in Paris, where a certain Jacques Drolette was christened in 1624. The name also appears in various other French records from the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Île-de-France.
In the 19th century, the Drolette surname made its way to North America, with many French-Canadian families bearing this name settling in Quebec and other parts of Canada. One notable early bearer of the name was François Drolette, a merchant and landowner born in Quebec City in 1812.
The Drolette name has also been associated with several historical figures over the centuries. For instance, Jean-Baptiste Drolette (1737-1810) was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer who played a significant role in the early exploration of the Canadian West. Another notable figure was Émilie Drolette (1853-1934), a Canadian nun and educator who founded the Congrégation des Soeurs de Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice.
In the United States, the Drolette name can be traced back to the late 19th century, when French-Canadian immigrants began settling in various parts of the country. One of the earliest recorded American bearers of the name was Joseph Drolette, born in Vermont in 1876.
Other notable individuals with the Drolette surname include Georges Drolette (1912-1985), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and Paul Drolette (1923-2015), a Canadian ice hockey player and coach who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
While the Drolette name has its roots in France and has been present in North America for several centuries, it has remained relatively uncommon, with only a small number of families bearing this surname throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drolette
Among Census respondents with the surname Drolette, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Drolette 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 Drolette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drolette
Drolette 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+19 bearers (+18.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,940 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-13 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +19 bearers (+18.6%) | Up 9,940 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 12,631 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 Drolette 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 | #138,304 | #150,935 | -9.1% |
| Count | 121 | 108 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drolette bearers went from 121 to 108 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 12,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #150,935.
FAQ
Drolette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drolette?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Drolette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Drolette?
Drolette ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Drolette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Drolette.
Has Drolette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drolette went from 121 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Drolette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drolette, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Drolette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drolette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Hispanic (7.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Drolette (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 Drolette mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "drolette" meaning a jester or entertainer. 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 Drolette (0.04 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 Drolette?
If you just want to know how common the surname Drolette is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.