Find out how popular the last name Laurent is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Laurent.

Laurent, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Laurent surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laurent in America

Laurent is the 5232nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laurent surname appeared 6,665 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Laurent.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laurent to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Laurent

The surname Laurent has its origins in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which was a common name given to children born on the feast day of St. Lawrence, a 3rd-century Roman deacon and martyr. The name Laurentius itself comes from the Latin word "laurus," meaning laurel.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Laurent can be found in various medieval French records and documents, such as the Cartulaires de l'Abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseille (12th century) and the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Savigny (13th century). In these records, the name appears in various spellings, including Lorent, Lorenz, and Lorens.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Laurent was Jean Laurent, a French composer and organist who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was known for his contributions to the development of Renaissance music.

Another notable figure was Pierre Laurent, a French mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1679 to 1773. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and is best known for his work on the theory of the motion of the Moon.

In the 19th century, Auguste Laurent (1807-1853) was a French chemist who made important contributions to the field of organic chemistry, particularly in the study of naphthalene derivatives.

Emile Laurent (1861-1904) was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements. He is known for his landscapes and scenes of modern life in Paris.

More recently, Jacqueline Laurent (1918-2009) was a French actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career, which spanned over six decades.

The surname Laurent has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Laurent-du-Pont, a commune in the department of Isère, and Laurent-du-Var, a commune in the department of Alpes-Maritimes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laurent

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Laurent.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Laurent was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Laurent has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Laurent was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Laurent, please contact us.

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