2000
#10,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,682
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Lagasse
A French occupational surname referring to a servant or page in a royal court.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,986 Americans carry the last name Lagasse. That puts it at #11,547 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,787 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lagasse 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
3.0K
1 in 114,787
Census rank
#11,547
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,604 bearers of the surname Lagasse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11547th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lagasse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lagasse
The surname LAGASSE has its origins in France, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "lagasse," which referred to a magpie or a chatterbox. This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname given to someone with a talkative or gossipy nature.
In the early records, the name appeared with various spellings, such as Lagace, Lagasse, and Lagâche, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Parish records of Chantelle, in the Allier region of France, where a certain Jacques Lagasse was mentioned in 1582.
The LAGASSE surname gained prominence in the French-speaking regions of Canada, particularly in Quebec, where many families with this name settled during the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable bearer of the name was Paul Lagasse, a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer who was active in the late 17th century and is credited with establishing trading posts along the St. Lawrence River.
Another notable figure was François Lagasse, a French-Canadian soldier and military officer who served in the Compagnies Franches de la Marine during the French and Indian War. He was born in 1732 and played a significant role in the defense of Quebec against the British forces in 1759.
In the literary world, Marie-Sophie Lagasse, born in 1778, was a French-Canadian poet and playwright whose works were influential in the early development of French-Canadian literature. Her plays and poems often explored themes of love, nature, and the struggles of colonial life.
Moving forward in time, Émile Lagasse, born in 1847, was a prominent Belgian architect who designed several notable buildings in Brussels, including the Palace of Fine Arts and the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken.
It's worth noting that the LAGASSE name has also been present in other parts of Europe, including Belgium and Switzerland, where variations such as Lagasse and Lagache have been recorded.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lagasse
Among Census respondents with the surname Lagasse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lagasse 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 Lagasse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,406
- Two or more races3.8% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lagasse
Lagasse 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
#11,197
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,823
+141 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 304 places
2020
#11,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,604
-219 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 350 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,893 | 2,682 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,197 | 2,823 | 0.96 | +141 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 304 places |
| 2020 | #11,547 | 2,604 | 0.87 | -219 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 350 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 Lagasse 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 | #11,197 | #11,547 | -3.1% |
| Count | 2,823 | 2,604 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.87 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lagasse bearers went from 2,823 to 2,604 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 350 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,197 to #11,547.
FAQ
Lagasse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lagasse?
Name Census estimates that about 2,986 living Americans carry the surname Lagasse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,787 residents.
How common is Lagasse?
Lagasse ranks #11,547 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 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 2,604 people with the surname Lagasse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,986), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 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 Lagasse.
Has Lagasse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lagasse went from 2,823 recorded bearers to 2,604. That is a decrease of 219 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,197 to #11,547.
What does the Census say about the background of Lagasse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lagasse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Lagasse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,406 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lagasse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Lagasse (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 Lagasse mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a servant or page in a royal court. 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 Lagasse (0.87 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 Lagasse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.