2000
#11,978
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,393
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Jourdan
A French topographic surname referring to someone living near the river Jordan or a place called Jourdain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,757 Americans carry the last name Jourdan. That puts it at #12,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,321 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jourdan 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
2.8K
1 in 124,321
Census rank
#12,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,404 bearers of the surname Jourdan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jourdan, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jourdan
The surname Jourdan is of French origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name "Jordanus," which itself is derived from the ancient Greek name "Iordanes," meaning "descending" or "flowing down." This is likely a reference to the Jordan River in the Middle East.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Jourdan can be found in various medieval records and documents from France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Languedoc. The name was often spelled in various ways, such as Jourdan, Jourden, Jourdin, and Jordain.
One notable historical reference to the name Jourdan is in the famous Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions several individuals with the surname Jourdan, indicating that the name had already spread to England by that time.
In the 13th century, a French nobleman named Guillaume Jourdan de Lille (1200-1272) was a prominent diplomat and author who served as a chamberlain to King Louis IX of France. Another notable figure was Jean Jourdan (1322-1384), a French theologian and professor at the University of Paris.
During the Renaissance period, the name Jourdan was associated with several notable artists and intellectuals. Jean Jourdan (1495-1556) was a French painter and engraver who worked in the Northern Renaissance style. Jacques Jourdan (1558-1630) was a French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of comets.
In more recent history, Camille Jourdan (1805-1872) was a French politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Finance under Napoleon III. Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762-1833) was a celebrated French military leader who played a crucial role in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Throughout its long history, the surname Jourdan has been associated with diverse individuals from various fields, including nobility, religion, arts, sciences, and politics. While its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the name has maintained its presence and significance across multiple generations and geographical regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jourdan
Among Census respondents with the surname Jourdan, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Jourdan 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 Jourdan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 1,721
- Black or African American14.7% · 353
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 127
- Two or more races5.1% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jourdan
Jourdan 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
#11,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,612
+219 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 13 places
2020
#12,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,404
-208 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 374 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,978 | 2,393 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,965 | 2,612 | 0.89 | +219 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 13 places |
| 2020 | #12,339 | 2,404 | 0.80 | -208 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 374 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 Jourdan 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 | #11,965 | #12,339 | -3.1% |
| Count | 2,612 | 2,404 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.80 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jourdan bearers went from 2,612 to 2,404 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 374 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,965 to #12,339.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jourdan
FAQ
Jourdan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jourdan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,757 living Americans carry the surname Jourdan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,321 residents.
How common is Jourdan?
Jourdan ranks #12,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,404 people with the surname Jourdan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,757), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Jourdan.
Has Jourdan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jourdan went from 2,612 recorded bearers to 2,404. That is a decrease of 208 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,965 to #12,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Jourdan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jourdan, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Jourdan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (1,721 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jourdan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.6%), Black (14.7%), Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Jourdan (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 Jourdan mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone living near the river Jordan or a place called Jourdain. 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 Jourdan (0.80 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 Jourdan?
If you just want to know how common the surname Jourdan is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.