2000
#10,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Langevin
A toponymic surname referring to someone living near a wooded area, derived from the French "l'angevin" meaning "the Angevin."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,073 Americans carry the last name Langevin. That puts it at #11,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,537 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Langevin 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
3.1K
1 in 111,537
Census rank
#11,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,680 bearers of the surname Langevin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Langevin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Langevin
The surname Langevin originated in France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French words "lange" meaning "long" and "vin" meaning "vine", suggesting the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked with long grapevines.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Langevin appears in the 1195 Cartulary of Notre-Dame de Paris, where a certain Radulfus Langevin is mentioned. This suggests the name was already in use by the late 12th century in the Île-de-France region.
During the Middle Ages, the Langevin name was particularly prevalent in the Champagne and Bourgogne regions of northeastern France, which were known for their vineyards and wine production. It's possible the name originally referred to someone involved in the wine trade or viticulture.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Hugues Langevin was recorded as a vassal of the Count of Champagne. Another early bearer of the name was Jean Langevin, a merchant from Dijon who lived in the late 14th century.
The name Langevin can be found in various historical records and documents from different regions of France, often with slight spelling variations such as Langvin, Langevin, or Longevin. This suggests the name was well-established and widespread by the late medieval period.
Notable individuals with the surname Langevin include Paul Langevin (1872-1946), a prominent French physicist and one of the founders of the Curie Institute in Paris. Another was Hector-Louis Langevin (1826-1906), a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a cabinet minister in the government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
Other notable Langevins include André Langevin (1934-2009), a French film director and screenwriter, and Joseph Langevin (1819-1892), a Canadian Catholic priest and the first Bishop of Rimouski, Quebec. The name has also been borne by several military figures, such as General Louis Langevin (1804-1868), who served in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Langevin
Among Census respondents with the surname Langevin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Langevin 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 Langevin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 2,437
- Two or more races3.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 22
- Black or African American0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Langevin
Langevin 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
#11,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,825
+24 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 677 places
2020
#11,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,680
-145 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,516 | 2,801 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,193 | 2,825 | 0.96 | +24 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 677 places |
| 2020 | #11,273 | 2,680 | 0.90 | -145 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 80 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 Langevin 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 | #11,193 | #11,273 | -0.7% |
| Count | 2,825 | 2,680 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.90 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Langevin bearers went from 2,825 to 2,680 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,193 to #11,273.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Langevin
FAQ
Langevin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Langevin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,073 living Americans carry the surname Langevin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,537 residents.
How common is Langevin?
Langevin ranks #11,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,680 people with the surname Langevin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,073), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Langevin.
Has Langevin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Langevin went from 2,825 recorded bearers to 2,680. That is a decrease of 145 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,193 to #11,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Langevin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Langevin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Langevin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (2,437 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Langevin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Langevin (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 Langevin mean?
A toponymic surname referring to someone living near a wooded area, derived from the French "l'angevin" meaning "the Angevin." 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 Langevin (0.90 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 Langevin?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.