2000
#6,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,462
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.65
Rare Last name
Fleury
A French habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a place abundant with flowers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,736 Americans carry the last name Fleury. That puts it at #6,524 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,755 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fleury 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 Fleury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 59,755
Census rank
#6,524
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,002 bearers of the surname Fleury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6524th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fleury
The surname Fleury originated in France during the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "flor" or the Latin word "florem," which means "flower." The name was likely given as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a flowery meadow or garden.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in the region of Île-de-France, particularly in and around Paris. One of the earliest known bearers was Guillaume Fleury, a landowner mentioned in documents from 1265 in the town of Vitry-sur-Seine, southeast of Paris.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various records across northern France, including the tax rolls of Normandy and the municipal archives of Amiens. A notable figure from this era was Jean Fleury, a merchant and alderman of the city of Rouen, who was active in the late 1300s.
The Fleury name can also be found in some medieval manuscripts, such as the 15th-century chronicle "Histoire de la Pucelle d'Orléans" (History of the Maid of Orléans), which mentions a certain Jacques Fleury who fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name became more widespread throughout France, with various spellings such as Fleury, Fleurie, and Fleurix. One notable bearer was André Hercule de Fleury (1653-1743), a French Cardinal and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of France under King Louis XV.
Another prominent figure was Claude Fleury (1640-1723), a French ecclesiastical historian and author, known for his works on church history, including the "Histoire ecclésiastique" (Ecclesiastical History).
The name also has a connection to the town of Fleury-la-Rivière in the Marne department of northeastern France, which likely took its name from an early landowner or noble family bearing the Fleury surname.
Other notable individuals with the surname Fleury include Émile Fleury (1826-1883), a French lawyer and politician, and André Fleury (born 1984), a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights in the National Hockey League.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fleury
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fleury 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 Fleury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 3,582
- Black or African American18.1% · 904
- Two or more races4.5% · 226
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 170
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fleury
Fleury 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
#6,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,934
+472 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Up 99 places
2020
#6,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,002
+68 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Up 311 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,934 | 4,462 | 1.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,835 | 4,934 | 1.67 | +472 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 99 places |
| 2020 | #6,524 | 5,002 | 1.67 | +68 bearers (+1.4%) | Up 311 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 Fleury 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 | #6,835 | #6,524 | 4.6% |
| Count | 4,934 | 5,002 | 1.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.67 | 1.67 | 0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fleury bearers went from 4,934 to 5,002 (+1.4% change). The surname moved up 311 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,835 to #6,524.
FAQ
Fleury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fleury?
Name Census estimates that about 5,736 living Americans carry the surname Fleury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,755 residents.
How common is Fleury?
Fleury ranks #6,524 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,002 people with the surname Fleury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,736), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Fleury.
Has Fleury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fleury went from 4,934 recorded bearers to 5,002. That is an increase of 68 (+1.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,835 to #6,524.
What does the Census say about the background of Fleury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fleury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (3,582 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fleury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.6%), Black (18.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fleury (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 Fleury mean?
A French habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a place abundant with flowers. 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 Fleury (1.67 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 common is the surname Fleury?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Fleury at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.