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

Fontenette, 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 Fontenette surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fontenette in America

Fontenette is the 27950th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fontenette surname appeared 858 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 Fontenette.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fontenette 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 Fontenette

The surname Fontenette is of French origin and is believed to have originated in the Normandy region of northern France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "fontaine" meaning "fountain" and "nette" meaning "small" or "little," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a small fountain or spring.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fontenette can be found in the Cartulaire de Domfront, a collection of charters and documents from the 11th and 12th centuries related to the town of Domfront in Normandy. In this document, there is a reference to a person named Robertus de Fontenette, who is mentioned as a landowner in the area.

The name Fontenette appears to have spread throughout France during the Middle Ages, with various spellings such as Fontenette, Fontennette, and Fontennet being used in different regions. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include:

1. Jean Fontenette (c. 1450-1520), a French merchant and landowner from the town of Rouen.
2. Marie Fontenette (1587-1665), a French noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of the playwright Molière.
3. Pierre Fontenette (1635-1706), a French military officer who served in the War of the Spanish Succession.
4. Étienne Fontenette (1715-1782), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris.
5. Louis Fontenette (1811-1892), a French explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in Africa and South America.

While the name Fontenette is more commonly found in France, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, detailed historical records and references outside of France are relatively scarce.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fontenette

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

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

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

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