2000
#10,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,709
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Juneau
A French toponymic surname derived from the city of Juneau, Alaska, or from a place in France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,198 Americans carry the last name Juneau. That puts it at #10,909 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,178 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Juneau 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
3.2K
1 in 107,178
Census rank
#10,909
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,789 bearers of the surname Juneau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10909th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Juneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Juneau
The surname Juneau finds its origins in France, specifically in the northern region of Normandy, where it emerged during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "jonc," meaning "rush" or "reed," suggesting an occupational name for someone who worked with or lived near rushes or reeds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Juneau can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Junchel" and is listed among the tenants in the county of Lincolnshire.
In the 13th century, the name Juneau appeared in various forms such as "Juneaux," "Junell," and "Juneau" in medieval records and charters from the regions of Normandy and Brittany in France. During this time, the name was also associated with several place names, including the village of Juneaux in the department of Eure-et-Loir.
One notable figure bearing the surname Juneau was Jean Juneau (c. 1490-1562), a French nobleman and military commander who fought in the Italian Wars under the reign of Francis I. Another prominent individual was Jacques Juneau (1625-1705), a French explorer and fur trader who established trading posts in the Great Lakes region of North America.
In the 18th century, Pierre Juneau (1720-1787), a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer, played a significant role in the exploration and settlement of the Canadian West. He is remembered for founding the settlement of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François in Quebec.
The name Juneau also gained prominence in the United States, with Solomon Juneau (1793-1856) being a notable figure. He was a French-Canadian fur trader and one of the founders of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he established a trading post in 1818.
Another individual of historical significance was Félix Juneau (1828-1905), a French-Canadian businessman and politician who served as the 12th Mayor of Montreal from 1875 to 1878.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Juneau
Among Census respondents with the surname Juneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Juneau 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 Juneau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 2,428
- Two or more races4.0% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 95
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 77
- Black or African American2.2% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Juneau
Juneau 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
#11,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,887
+178 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 211 places
2020
#10,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,789
-98 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,805 | 2,709 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,016 | 2,887 | 0.98 | +178 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 211 places |
| 2020 | #10,909 | 2,789 | 0.93 | -98 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 107 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 Juneau 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 | #11,016 | #10,909 | 1.0% |
| Count | 2,887 | 2,789 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.93 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Juneau bearers went from 2,887 to 2,789 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,016 to #10,909.
FAQ
Juneau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Juneau?
Name Census estimates that about 3,198 living Americans carry the surname Juneau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,178 residents.
How common is Juneau?
Juneau ranks #10,909 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,789 people with the surname Juneau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,198), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Juneau.
Has Juneau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Juneau went from 2,887 recorded bearers to 2,789. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,016 to #10,909.
What does the Census say about the background of Juneau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Juneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Juneau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (2,428 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Juneau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Juneau (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 Juneau mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from the city of Juneau, Alaska, or from a place in France. 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 Juneau (0.93 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 Americans have the surname Juneau?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.