2000
#8,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,349
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.24
Rare Last name
Frechette
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of arrows or darts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,742 Americans carry the last name Frechette. That puts it at #9,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,597 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frechette 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
3.7K
1 in 91,597
Census rank
#9,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,263 bearers of the surname Frechette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frechette, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frechette
The surname Frechette is of French origin, deriving from the Old French word "frechete" which means "little arrow" or "small dart." This name likely originated in the northern regions of France during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the Frechette surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various historical documents from the regions of Normandy and Picardy in northern France. Some of these early records include mentions of individuals with the surname Frechette in local tax rolls, census records, and land ownership registries.
One notable early bearer of the Frechette surname was Jean Frechette, a Norman archer who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Jean Frechette is mentioned in the famous Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
In the 16th century, the Frechette surname began to spread beyond the borders of France as French settlers and explorers ventured to different parts of the world, including the Americas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the Frechette surname in the New World was Jacques Frechette, a French colonist who settled in Quebec, Canada in the early 1600s.
Other notable individuals with the Frechette surname throughout history include Louis Frechette (1839-1908), a French-Canadian poet and playwright who is considered one of the greatest literary figures in Quebec's history. Frechette was the first Canadian writer to be awarded the prestigious Prix Montyon by the Académie française in 1880.
Another prominent bearer of the Frechette surname was Marie-Victorin Frechette (1885-1944), a renowned French-Canadian botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Quebec and the broader field of phytogeography.
In the realm of politics, Gustave Frechette (1851-1935) was a French-Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons and later as a Senator for the province of Quebec in the early 20th century.
The Frechette surname has also been associated with various place names in France, such as the village of Fréchette in the department of Pas-de-Calais, which likely derived its name from the surname itself or from the Old French word "frechete."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frechette
Among Census respondents with the surname Frechette, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Frechette 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 Frechette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,931
- Two or more races4.2% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 34
- Black or African American0.7% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frechette
Frechette 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
#9,381
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,468
+119 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 404 places
2020
#9,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,263
-205 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 148 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,977 | 3,349 | 1.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,381 | 3,468 | 1.18 | +119 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 404 places |
| 2020 | #9,529 | 3,263 | 1.09 | -205 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 148 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 Frechette 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 | #9,381 | #9,529 | -1.6% |
| Count | 3,468 | 3,263 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.09 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frechette bearers went from 3,468 to 3,263 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 148 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,381 to #9,529.
FAQ
Frechette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frechette?
Name Census estimates that about 3,742 living Americans carry the surname Frechette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,597 residents.
How common is Frechette?
Frechette ranks #9,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,263 people with the surname Frechette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,742), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Frechette.
Has Frechette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frechette went from 3,468 recorded bearers to 3,263. That is a decrease of 205 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,381 to #9,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Frechette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frechette, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Frechette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,931 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frechette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Frechette (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 Frechette mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of arrows or darts. 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 Frechette (1.09 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 Frechette?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.