2000
#5,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,615
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Laurent
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the bright one" or "the shining one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,665 Americans carry the last name Laurent. That puts it at #5,083 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,717 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laurent 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 Laurent with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,717
Census rank
#5,083
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,684 bearers of the surname Laurent in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5083rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laurent, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.9%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laurent
Among Census respondents with the surname Laurent, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.9%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Laurent 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 Laurent surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.9% · 3,268
- Black or African American41.4% · 2,769
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 359
- Two or more races3.5% · 237
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laurent
Laurent 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
#5,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,665
+1,050 bearers (+18.7%)
Per 100,000 2.26
Rank movement Up 438 places
2020
#5,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,684
+19 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Up 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,670 | 5,615 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,232 | 6,665 | 2.26 | +1,050 bearers (+18.7%) | Up 438 places |
| 2020 | #5,083 | 6,684 | 2.24 | +19 bearers (+0.3%) | Up 149 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 Laurent 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 | #5,232 | #5,083 | 2.8% |
| Count | 6,665 | 6,684 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.26 | 2.24 | -1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laurent bearers went from 6,665 to 6,684 (+0.3% change). The surname moved up 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,232 to #5,083.
FAQ
Laurent surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laurent?
Name Census estimates that about 7,665 living Americans carry the surname Laurent. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,717 residents.
How common is Laurent?
Laurent ranks #5,083 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.24 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 6,684 people with the surname Laurent. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,665), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.24 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 Laurent.
Has Laurent become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laurent went from 6,665 recorded bearers to 6,684. That is an increase of 19 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,232 to #5,083.
What does the Census say about the background of Laurent?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laurent, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.9%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Laurent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.9% (3,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laurent appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.9%), Black (41.4%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Laurent (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 Laurent mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the bright one" or "the shining one." 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 Laurent (2.24 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 Laurent?
See how many people have the surname Laurent on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.