2000
#5,911
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,361
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.99
Rare Last name
Laroche
A French topographic surname indicating someone who lived near a rock, rocky area, or cliff.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,160 Americans carry the last name Laroche. That puts it at #6,114 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,642 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laroche 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Laroche with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.2K
1 in 55,642
Census rank
#6,114
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,372 bearers of the surname Laroche in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6114th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laroche, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laroche
The surname LAROCHE originated in France in the medieval period. It is a toponymic name derived from the French words "la roche", which translate to "the rock" or "the rocky place". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a rocky outcrop or a prominent rock formation.
In the early Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from topographic features or locations associated with a person's place of residence or origin. The name LAROCHE can be traced back to various regions of France, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LAROCHE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror in England. The entry mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Roca or Raoul de la Roche.
The LAROCHE surname has several variations in spelling throughout history, including La Roche, De la Roche, Delaroche, and Larouche. These variations often reflect regional dialects or linguistic influences of the time.
Notable individuals with the surname LAROCHE include:
1. Jean-Baptiste de La Roche (1668-1742), a French explorer and navigator who led expeditions to the Canadian Arctic in the early 18th century.
2. Paul de La Roche (1579-1637), a French Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Grenoble from 1607 to 1637.
3. Sophie de La Roche (1730-1807), a German novelist and playwright who was one of the pioneers of the epistolary novel genre.
4. Émile de La Roche (1845-1917), a French painter and illustrator known for his historical and military scenes.
5. Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, Baron de La Roche-Constant (1752-1824), a French diplomat and politician who served as a deputy in the Estates-General and the National Convention during the French Revolution.
The LAROCHE name has also been associated with various place names throughout France, such as La Roche-sur-Yon, La Roche-Posay, and La Roche-sur-Foron, further reflecting its geographic origins and connections.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laroche
Among Census respondents with the surname Laroche, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Laroche 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 Laroche surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.6% · 3,900
- Black or African American14.2% · 764
- Two or more races4.4% · 235
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 225
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.0% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laroche
Laroche 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
#6,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,618
+257 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Down 193 places
2020
#6,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,372
-246 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,911 | 5,361 | 1.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,104 | 5,618 | 1.90 | +257 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 193 places |
| 2020 | #6,114 | 5,372 | 1.80 | -246 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 10 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 Laroche 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 | #6,104 | #6,114 | -0.2% |
| Count | 5,618 | 5,372 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.90 | 1.80 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laroche bearers went from 5,618 to 5,372 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,104 to #6,114.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Laroche
FAQ
Laroche surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laroche?
Name Census estimates that about 6,160 living Americans carry the surname Laroche. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,642 residents.
How common is Laroche?
Laroche ranks #6,114 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,372 people with the surname Laroche. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,160), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Laroche.
Has Laroche become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laroche went from 5,618 recorded bearers to 5,372. That is a decrease of 246 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,104 to #6,114.
What does the Census say about the background of Laroche?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laroche, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Laroche in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (3,900 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laroche appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.6%), Black (14.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Laroche (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 Laroche mean?
A French topographic surname indicating someone who lived near a rock, rocky area, or cliff. 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 Laroche (1.80 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 Laroche?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.