2000
#7,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,980
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Labbe
A French occupational surname referring to an abbot or priest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,445 Americans carry the last name Labbe. That puts it at #8,187 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,110 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Labbe 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
4.4K
1 in 77,110
Census rank
#8,187
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,876 bearers of the surname Labbe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8187th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Labbe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Labbe
The surname Labbe originated in France, derived from the Old French word "l'abbé," meaning "the abbot" or "the priest." This name was likely given to someone who lived near an abbey or had some connection to the clergy or religious institutions during the Middle Ages.
In the 12th century, the name Labbe can be found in various records and manuscripts from the Normandy region of northern France. The earliest known bearer of this surname was Robert Labbe, a monk who lived in the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Wandrille in Normandy around 1150.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Labbe spread across France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Paris. It was often associated with families who lived near abbeys or had ties to the church. For instance, the village of Abbeville in northern France, originally named "Abbatis Villa" meaning "the Abbot's village," was a center for the Labbe family during this period.
One notable figure with the surname Labbe was Philippe Labbe, a French Jesuit scholar and historian born in Bourges in 1607. He is known for his work "Bibliotheca Bibliothecarum," a comprehensive bibliography of bibliographies published in 1653.
Another prominent individual was Étienne Labbe, a French mathematician and astronomer born in Aignan in 1610. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 17th century, the name Labbe can be found in various records from the city of Lyon, where a family of merchants and bankers bearing this surname lived and prospered. One member of this family, Jean-Baptiste Labbe, born in 1663, became a renowned financier and advisor to the French monarchy.
During the 18th century, Pierre-Philippe Labbe, a French playwright and poet born in Paris in 1722, gained recognition for his works in the neoclassical style, including the tragedy "Iphigénie en Tauride" (1758).
Throughout history, the surname Labbe has been spelled in various ways, such as Labbé, L'Abbé, Labé, or Labée, reflecting regional variations and linguistic changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Labbe
Among Census respondents with the surname Labbe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Labbe 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 Labbe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.2% · 3,148
- Black or African American9.8% · 379
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 176
- Two or more races3.1% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Labbe
Labbe 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
#7,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,294
+314 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 24 places
2020
#8,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,876
-418 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 455 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,708 | 3,980 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,732 | 4,294 | 1.46 | +314 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 24 places |
| 2020 | #8,187 | 3,876 | 1.30 | -418 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 455 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 Labbe 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 | #7,732 | #8,187 | -5.9% |
| Count | 4,294 | 3,876 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.30 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Labbe bearers went from 4,294 to 3,876 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 455 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,732 to #8,187.
FAQ
Labbe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Labbe?
Name Census estimates that about 4,445 living Americans carry the surname Labbe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,110 residents.
How common is Labbe?
Labbe ranks #8,187 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 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 3,876 people with the surname Labbe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,445), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 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 Labbe.
Has Labbe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Labbe went from 4,294 recorded bearers to 3,876. That is a decrease of 418 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,732 to #8,187.
What does the Census say about the background of Labbe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Labbe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Labbe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (3,148 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Labbe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.2%), Black (9.8%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Labbe (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 Labbe mean?
A French occupational surname referring to an abbot or priest. 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 Labbe (1.30 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 have the surname Labbe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.