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

LaForge, 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 LaForge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of LaForge in America

LaForge is the 13588th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The LaForge surname appeared 2,231 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 LaForge.

We can also compare 2010 data for LaForge 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 LaForge

The surname LAFORGE is of French origin, deriving from the words "la" meaning "the" and "forge" meaning "forge" or "smithy". It likely originated in the 11th to 12th centuries as a locational surname, given to individuals who lived near or worked at a forge or blacksmith's workshop.

The name was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of France, where metalworking and blacksmithing were prominent trades. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various medieval records and documents from these areas.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean LAFORGE, a blacksmith from the village of Montdidier in the Somme region of northern France, who was mentioned in a land registry from the year 1297. Another early reference is found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a 13th-century manuscript that records a certain Renaud LAFORGE as a landowner in the city of Chartres.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appears in various records and documents across northern France, often associated with metalworking trades or individuals living in proximity to forges or smithies. Notable bearers from this period include Jacques LAFORGE (1538-1612), a renowned blacksmith and metalworker from the town of Arras, and Pierre LAFORGE (1591-1653), a master swordsmith from Paris.

In the 18th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Jean-Baptiste LAFORGE (1739-1825), a renowned French sculptor and artist who worked extensively in Paris and was appointed as a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.

Other notable individuals with the surname LAFORGE include:

1. Léon LAFORGE (1856-1933), a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris.
2. Paul LAFORGE (1887-1952), a French poet and writer associated with the Surrealist movement.
3. Albert LAFORGE (1901-1979), a French politician and member of the National Assembly.
4. Lucien LAFORGE (1918-2000), a Canadian photographer and artist known for his portraits and landscape photography.
5. Geordi LAFORGE, a fictional character from the Star Trek universe, played by actor LeVar Burton.

While the name LAFORGE is predominantly French in origin, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in North America and other former French colonial territories, due to migration and cultural exchange.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name LaForge

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

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

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

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