2000
#5,603
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,678
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.10
Uncommon Last name
Etienne
French geographical surname referring to someone who lived near or came from a place called Étienne or Saint-Étienne.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,437 Americans carry the last name Etienne. That puts it at #3,804 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,840 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Etienne 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Etienne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 32,840
Census rank
#3,804
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.1K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,102 bearers of the surname Etienne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3804th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Etienne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Etienne
The surname Etienne has its origins in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French form of the ancient Latin name Stephanus, which means "crown" or "wreath." This name was popularized by early Christian saints and martyrs.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Etienne can be traced back to the 12th century in various regions of France, including Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany. It was often spelled in different ways, such as Estienne, Estyenne, or Estiene, reflecting the variations in local dialects and spellings at the time.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Etienne is found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions an individual named Stephanus, which was the Latin form of the name.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Etienne was Jean Etienne, a French scholar and chronicler who authored several works on the history of his time. Another prominent individual was Henri Etienne, a 16th-century French printer and scholar who published numerous classical texts and helped establish the Estienne family as a prominent dynasty of printers and scholars.
During the Renaissance, the Etienne family played a significant role in the development of printing and scholarship in Europe. Robert Etienne (1503-1559) was a renowned printer and scholar who contributed greatly to the advancement of typography and the publication of scholarly works.
In the 17th century, Charles Etienne (1604-1689) was a French physician and botanist who made important contributions to the study of plants and their medicinal properties. His work, "Interpretation of the Names of Plants," published in 1663, was a seminal work in the field of botanical nomenclature.
Another notable figure with the surname Etienne was Eugène Etienne (1844-1921), a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1905 to 1906 and played a significant role in the country's political landscape during that period.
Throughout its long history, the surname Etienne has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, printers, physicians, botanists, and statesmen, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Etienne
Among Census respondents with the surname Etienne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Etienne 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 Etienne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.9% · 7,458
- White10.5% · 955
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 374
- Two or more races3.1% · 278
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Etienne
Etienne 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
#4,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,867
+2,189 bearers (+38.6%)
Per 100,000 2.67
Rank movement Up 1,093 places
2020
#3,804
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,102
+1,235 bearers (+15.7%)
Per 100,000 3.05
Rank movement Up 706 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,603 | 5,678 | 2.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,510 | 7,867 | 2.67 | +2,189 bearers (+38.6%) | Up 1,093 places |
| 2020 | #3,804 | 9,102 | 3.05 | +1,235 bearers (+15.7%) | Up 706 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 Etienne 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 | #4,510 | #3,804 | 15.7% |
| Count | 7,867 | 9,102 | 15.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.67 | 3.05 | 14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Etienne bearers went from 7,867 to 9,102 (+15.7% change). The surname moved up 706 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,510 to #3,804.
FAQ
Etienne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Etienne?
Name Census estimates that about 10,437 living Americans carry the surname Etienne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,840 residents.
How common is Etienne?
Etienne ranks #3,804 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,102 people with the surname Etienne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,437), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Etienne.
Has Etienne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Etienne went from 7,867 recorded bearers to 9,102. That is an increase of 1,235 (+15.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,510 to #3,804.
What does the Census say about the background of Etienne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Etienne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Etienne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (7,458 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Etienne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (81.9%), White (10.5%), Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Etienne (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 Etienne mean?
French geographical surname referring to someone who lived near or came from a place called Étienne or Saint-Étienne. 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 Etienne (3.05 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 surname Etienne?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.