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

Jette, 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 Jette surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jette in America

Jette is the 18448th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jette surname appeared 1,500 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Jette.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jette 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 Jette

The surname Jette originated in Normandy, France, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "jeter," meaning "to throw" or "to cast." This term likely referred to an occupation or a descriptive nickname given to someone who worked as a thrower or caster of objects, such as a stone-thrower or a fisherman casting nets.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jette can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Jette" in the records, indicating its presence in Normandy and its subsequent introduction to England after the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name was Sir John Jette, a knight who fought alongside King Edward I during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He was born circa 1270 and played a significant role in several battles against the Scots.

During the 14th century, the name Jette was associated with a prominent family in the town of Rouen, Normandy. This family owned significant landholdings and held influential positions in the local government and clergy. One member, Guillaume Jette, born in 1325, served as the mayor of Rouen from 1372 to 1375.

In the 16th century, the name Jette appeared in the records of the Huguenot diaspora, a migration of French Protestants fleeing religious persecution. Many Huguenot families bearing the name Jette settled in various parts of Europe and North America, contributing to the spread of the surname.

Another notable bearer of the name was Jean-Baptiste Jette, a French explorer and cartographer born in 1685 in Quebec, Canada. He was known for his contributions to mapping the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi River basin.

In more recent history, the surname Jette gained prominence through the work of René Jette, a Canadian historian and genealogist born in 1920. He dedicated his life to researching and preserving the genealogical records of French-Canadian families, including those bearing the name Jette.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jette

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

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

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

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