2000
#9,422
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,165
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Lamothe
From the French, referring to someone who lived near a moth-infested area or by a mud flat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,751 Americans carry the last name Lamothe. That puts it at #9,508 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,377 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lamothe 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
3.8K
1 in 91,377
Census rank
#9,508
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,271 bearers of the surname Lamothe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9508th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamothe, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lamothe
The surname LAMOTHE originated in France, likely during the medieval period. It is derived from the French words "la" meaning "the" and "mothe" meaning a small hill or mound. This suggests the name may have been given to someone who lived near a small hillock or mound.
In medieval France, surnames often derived from topographic features near where a person lived. The earliest recorded spelling variations include Lamothe, Lamotte, and De Lamothe. These variations suggest the name was established by the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 1292 tax rolls of Languedoc, where Arnaud de Lamothe is listed as a landowner. The name also appears in various charters and cartularies from the 13th to 15th centuries across southern France.
During the Renaissance, notable bearers of the name included Jean de Lamothe (1505-1573), a French Protestant theologian and reformer. Another was Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac (1658-1730), the founder of Detroit, Michigan and governor of French Louisiana.
In the 18th century, François de Lamothe (1725-1782) was a French naval officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Later, Jean-Baptiste de Lamothe (1769-1846) was a French general who served under Napoleon Bonaparte.
The 19th century saw Alphonse de Lamothe-Langon (1790-1869), a prolific French novelist and playwright. Meanwhile, in England, William de Lamothe (1834-1910) was a notable landscape painter from Yorkshire.
Throughout its history, the surname LAMOTHE has been associated with various places in France, including villages and communes named Lamothe in regions like Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, and Limousin. The name's French origins and early recorded examples provide a rich tapestry of its historical significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamothe
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamothe, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lamothe 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 Lamothe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.8% · 2,120
- Black or African American24.9% · 815
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 161
- Two or more races4.4% · 144
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lamothe
Lamothe 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
#9,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,409
+244 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 113 places
2020
#9,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,271
-138 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,422 | 3,165 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,535 | 3,409 | 1.16 | +244 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 113 places |
| 2020 | #9,508 | 3,271 | 1.09 | -138 bearers (-4.0%) | Up 27 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 Lamothe 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 | #9,535 | #9,508 | 0.3% |
| Count | 3,409 | 3,271 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.16 | 1.09 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lamothe bearers went from 3,409 to 3,271 (-4.0% change). The surname moved up 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,535 to #9,508.
FAQ
Lamothe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lamothe?
Name Census estimates that about 3,751 living Americans carry the surname Lamothe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,377 residents.
How common is Lamothe?
Lamothe ranks #9,508 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,271 people with the surname Lamothe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,751), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Lamothe.
Has Lamothe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lamothe went from 3,409 recorded bearers to 3,271. That is a decrease of 138 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,535 to #9,508.
What does the Census say about the background of Lamothe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamothe, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Lamothe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.8% (2,120 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lamothe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.8%), Black (24.9%), Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Lamothe (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 Lamothe mean?
From the French, referring to someone who lived near a moth-infested area or by a mud flat. 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 Lamothe (1.09 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 Lamothe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.