Lac last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Lac

A French surname derived from a topographic feature meaning "lake".

Lac, 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 Lac surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lac in America

Lac is the 32935th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lac surname appeared 696 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lac.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lac 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 32935 41995 -24.18%
Count 696 487 35.33%
Proportion per 100k 0.24 0.18 28.57%

The history of the last name Lac

The surname Lac has its origins in France, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "lac," meaning "lake" or "pond." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a body of water or worked in a profession related to lakes or ponds, such as fishing or boating.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lac surname can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Redon, a medieval cartulary from the Redon Abbey in Brittany, France, dating back to the late 12th century. The document mentions a person named "Petrus de Lac" (Peter of the Lake), indicating the surname's connection to a place name or topographical feature.

In the 13th century, the Lac surname appeared in various forms, including "de Lac," "de Lacu," and "de Laccu," reflecting the Latin influence on French naming conventions during that time period. The "de" prefix often indicated a person's place of origin or residence.

The Domesday Book, a renowned medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain direct references to the Lac surname. However, it does record several place names with the "lac" element, such as Lacock in Wiltshire and Lachen in Somerset, hinting at the surname's potential connection to these locations.

Notable individuals with the Lac surname throughout history include:

  1. Jean de Lac (c. 1320 - c. 1390), a French philosopher and theologian known for his works on logic and metaphysics.
  2. Pierre de Lac (c. 1470 - c. 1540), a French architect and engineer who oversaw the construction of several notable buildings in Paris, including the Pont Notre-Dame.
  3. Marie-Anne de Lac (1683 - 1761), a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of Louis XV.
  4. Jacques-François de Lac (1720 - 1792), a French military officer and writer who served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
  5. Louis-Armand de Lac (1825 - 1899), a French diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for France from 1890 to 1892.

While the Lac surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange. However, this overview focuses primarily on the surname's origins and historical significance within France.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lac

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

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 Lac was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.18% 43
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.72% 5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 90.95% 633
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.15% 8
Hispanic Origin 1.01% 7

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 Lac has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.18% 4.93% 22.50%
Black 0.72% 1.03% -35.43%
Asian and Pacific Islander 90.95% 91.99% -1.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.15% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 1.01% 1.44% -35.10%

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

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

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"Lac last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 10, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/lac-surname-popularity/.

"Lac last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/lac-surname-popularity/. Accessed 10 October, 2024

Lac last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/lac-surname-popularity/.

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