2000
#10,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.08
Rare Last name
Larocque
From the French place name "La Rocque," referring to someone living near a prominent rock or outcropping.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,382 Americans carry the last name Larocque. That puts it at #10,391 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,347 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Larocque 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
3.4K
1 in 101,347
Census rank
#10,391
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,949 bearers of the surname Larocque in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10391st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Larocque, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.3%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Larocque
The surname LAROCQUE is of French origin, with its roots traced back to the 16th century in the region of Normandy, France. It is derived from the Old French word "roque," meaning a distaff or rock, which was a tool used for spinning wool or flax.
LAROCQUE is believed to have originated as a descriptive surname, likely given to individuals who worked with distaffs or lived near rocky terrain. The name's earliest recorded spellings include La Roque, La Rok, and La Rocque, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
In the Domesday Book, a medieval manuscript recording landholdings in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066, there are references to individuals with the surname "de la Roque," indicating the presence of this name among the Norman nobility who accompanied William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname LAROCQUE was Jean de la Roque, a French nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Pierre de la Roque, a 16th-century French scholar and translator known for his works on ancient Greek and Roman literature.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname LAROCQUE was found among French settlers in New France (present-day Canada and parts of the United States). Antoine de la Roque, born in 1636, was one of the earliest settlers with this name in Quebec, Canada.
In the 19th century, François-Xavier LAROCQUE (1809-1865) was a prominent French-Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
Another notable individual with this surname was Gérard LAROCQUE (1881-1962), a French-Canadian painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits of rural life in Quebec.
While the surname LAROCQUE has its roots in France, over time it has spread to various parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange. Individuals with this name have made significant contributions in various fields, carrying on the legacy of their French heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Larocque
Among Census respondents with the surname Larocque, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.3%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Larocque 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 Larocque surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 2,367
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.3% · 215
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 145
- Two or more races4.2% · 125
- Black or African American2.3% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Larocque
Larocque 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
#10,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,032
+129 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 377 places
2020
#10,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,949
-83 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,195 | 2,903 | 1.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,572 | 3,032 | 1.03 | +129 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 377 places |
| 2020 | #10,391 | 2,949 | 0.99 | -83 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 181 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 Larocque 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 | #10,572 | #10,391 | 1.7% |
| Count | 3,032 | 2,949 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.99 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Larocque bearers went from 3,032 to 2,949 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,572 to #10,391.
FAQ
Larocque surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Larocque?
Name Census estimates that about 3,382 living Americans carry the surname Larocque. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,347 residents.
How common is Larocque?
Larocque ranks #10,391 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 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 2,949 people with the surname Larocque. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,382), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 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 Larocque.
Has Larocque become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Larocque went from 3,032 recorded bearers to 2,949. That is a decrease of 83 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,572 to #10,391.
What does the Census say about the background of Larocque?
Among Census respondents with the surname Larocque, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.3%) 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 Larocque in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (2,367 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Larocque appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (7.3%), 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 Larocque (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 Larocque mean?
From the French place name "La Rocque," referring to someone living near a prominent rock or outcropping. 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 Larocque (0.99 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 Larocque?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.