2000
#10,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,836
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Lapoint
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a place with a distinctive point or tip.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,195 Americans carry the last name Lapoint. That puts it at #10,923 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,278 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lapoint 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
3.2K
1 in 107,278
Census rank
#10,923
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,786 bearers of the surname Lapoint in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10923rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lapoint, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lapoint
The surname Lapoint originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "la" meaning "the" and "pointe" meaning "point" or "tip," referring to a geographic location or landform. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a promontory, headland, or pointed piece of land jutting into a body of water.
Lapoint is found in various historical records, such as the "Cahiers de l'État-Major" from the 17th century, which mentions a Sieur de Lapoint serving in the French military. The name also appears in the "Registres de l'État Civil" from the 18th century, documenting births, marriages, and deaths of several Lapoint families in different regions of France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lapoint dates back to 1532, when Jean Lapoint was born in the village of Poitiers, Poitou-Charentes region. Another notable bearer of the name was Pierre Lapoint (1645-1718), a French explorer and cartographer who mapped parts of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico during his expeditions in the late 17th century.
The Lapoint surname has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. André Lapoint (1781-1857) was a French military officer who served under Napoleon Bonaparte and participated in various campaigns across Europe. Marie-Louise Lapoint (1829-1902) was a renowned French painter and sculptor known for her portraits and allegorical works.
Other notable individuals with the Lapoint surname include Jacques Lapoint (1901-1975), a French philosopher and author who wrote extensively on existentialism and phenomenology, and Henri Lapoint (1920-1998), a French politician who served as a member of the National Assembly and played a significant role in shaping post-war policies in France.
While the Lapoint surname has French origins, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, the earliest records and historical references primarily trace back to the regions of France where the name first emerged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lapoint
Among Census respondents with the surname Lapoint, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lapoint 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 Lapoint surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 2,351
- Two or more races4.7% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 127
- Black or African American4.0% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lapoint
Lapoint 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
#11,021
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,886
+50 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 605 places
2020
#10,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,786
-100 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 98 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,416 | 2,836 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,021 | 2,886 | 0.98 | +50 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 605 places |
| 2020 | #10,923 | 2,786 | 0.93 | -100 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 98 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 Lapoint 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 | #11,021 | #10,923 | 0.9% |
| Count | 2,886 | 2,786 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.93 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lapoint bearers went from 2,886 to 2,786 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 98 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,021 to #10,923.
FAQ
Lapoint surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lapoint?
Name Census estimates that about 3,195 living Americans carry the surname Lapoint. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,278 residents.
How common is Lapoint?
Lapoint ranks #10,923 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,786 people with the surname Lapoint. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,195), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Lapoint.
Has Lapoint become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lapoint went from 2,886 recorded bearers to 2,786. That is a decrease of 100 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,021 to #10,923.
What does the Census say about the background of Lapoint?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lapoint, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Lapoint in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (2,351 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lapoint appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Lapoint (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 Lapoint mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a place with a distinctive point or tip. 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 Lapoint (0.93 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 last name Lapoint?
Want to know how many people have the surname Lapoint? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.