2000
#12,202
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,341
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Laplant
A French toponymic surname derived from a place where plants or young trees were abundant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,689 Americans carry the last name Laplant. That puts it at #12,588 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,465 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laplant 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
2.7K
1 in 127,465
Census rank
#12,588
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,345 bearers of the surname Laplant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12588th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laplant, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laplant
The surname LAPLANT is of French origin, derived from the Old French phrase "la plante," which means "the plant" or "the seedling." This name likely originated in the northern regions of France during the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.
LAPLANT is thought to have initially been a descriptive surname, possibly referring to a person who worked with plants or lived near a notable plant or garden. In some cases, it may have been a nickname given to someone who had a particular interest in plants or horticulture.
Early records of the LAPLANT surname can be found in various French documents and manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a Jean Laplant in a land registry from the village of Normandy in the year 1418.
The earliest known bearer of the LAPLANT name was Pierre Laplant, a French farmer who lived in the village of Picardy in the late 15th century. His son, Jacques Laplant (c. 1480-1557), was a respected horticulturist and is credited with introducing several new plant varieties to the region.
Another notable figure with the LAPLANT surname was Marie Laplant (1602-1672), a French herbalist and midwife who was renowned for her expertise in using medicinal plants. Her written works, including a treatise on plant remedies, were widely circulated in her time.
In the 17th century, the LAPLANT name appeared in various records related to the exploration and settlement of New France (present-day Canada). One such individual was François Laplant (1625-1689), a French settler who established a successful farm and nursery in the region of Quebec.
During the 18th century, the LAPLANT surname was relatively common in certain regions of France, particularly in the northern provinces. Notable bearers from this period include the botanist René Laplant (1712-1784) and the landscape architect Jacques-Henri Laplant (1738-1801), who designed several prominent gardens in Paris.
Throughout history, variations of the LAPLANT spelling have included Laplante, Laplante, and Laplant, among others. These variations often reflected regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laplant
Among Census respondents with the surname Laplant, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Laplant 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 Laplant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 2,047
- Two or more races4.1% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.5% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laplant
Laplant 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
#12,491
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,482
+141 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 289 places
2020
#12,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,345
-137 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,202 | 2,341 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,491 | 2,482 | 0.84 | +141 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 289 places |
| 2020 | #12,588 | 2,345 | 0.78 | -137 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 97 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 Laplant 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 | #12,491 | #12,588 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,482 | 2,345 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.78 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laplant bearers went from 2,482 to 2,345 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,491 to #12,588.
FAQ
Laplant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laplant?
Name Census estimates that about 2,689 living Americans carry the surname Laplant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,465 residents.
How common is Laplant?
Laplant ranks #12,588 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,345 people with the surname Laplant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,689), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Laplant.
Has Laplant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laplant went from 2,482 recorded bearers to 2,345. That is a decrease of 137 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,491 to #12,588.
What does the Census say about the background of Laplant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laplant, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Laplant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (2,047 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laplant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Laplant (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 Laplant mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place where plants or young trees were abundant. 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 Laplant (0.78 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 Laplant?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.