2000
#6,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,726
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.75
Rare Last name
Lavallee
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived in or near a small valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,480 Americans carry the last name Lavallee. That puts it at #6,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,546 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lavallee 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
5.5K
1 in 62,546
Census rank
#6,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,779 bearers of the surname Lavallee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lavallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lavallee
The surname Lavallee originated in France, with its earliest known roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is derived from the French words "la vallée," meaning "the valley." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or worked in a valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lavallee can be found in the parish records of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, a commune in the Charente-Maritime department of western France, dating back to 1598. Another early mention of the name appears in the records of Notre-Dame de Québec, a Catholic parish in Quebec City, Canada, from the late 17th century.
Historically, the Lavallee surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Jean-Baptiste Lavallee, a French-Canadian explorer and trader who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He played a significant role in the early exploration and settlement of the Great Lakes region.
Another prominent figure was François Lavallee, a French soldier and military engineer who lived from 1690 to 1762. He served in the French army during the War of the Spanish Succession and later worked on fortifications in various parts of France and its colonies.
In the 19th century, there was Joseph Lavallee, a French-Canadian architect and engineer who was born in 1825 and died in 1893. He designed several notable buildings in Montreal, including the Université de Montréal's main building and the Bonsecours Market.
Moving into the 20th century, one notable individual with the Lavallee surname was Yvon Lavallee, a Canadian ice hockey player who was born in 1937 and played in the National Hockey League for several teams, including the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues.
Another noteworthy figure was Lise Lavallee, a Canadian singer and actress who was born in 1947. She had a successful career in both French and English-language productions, appearing in numerous films, television shows, and stage productions.
Overall, the Lavallee surname has a rich history rooted in France and its former colonies, with various branches and notable individuals across multiple centuries and fields of endeavor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lavallee
Among Census respondents with the surname Lavallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Lavallee 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 Lavallee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 4,402
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 165
- Two or more races3.1% · 148
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lavallee
Lavallee 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
#6,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,965
+239 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Down 178 places
2020
#6,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,779
-186 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Up 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,615 | 4,726 | 1.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,793 | 4,965 | 1.68 | +239 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 178 places |
| 2020 | #6,783 | 4,779 | 1.60 | -186 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 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 Lavallee 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 | #6,793 | #6,783 | 0.1% |
| Count | 4,965 | 4,779 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.68 | 1.60 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lavallee bearers went from 4,965 to 4,779 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,793 to #6,783.
FAQ
Lavallee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lavallee?
Name Census estimates that about 5,480 living Americans carry the surname Lavallee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,546 residents.
How common is Lavallee?
Lavallee ranks #6,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.60 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 4,779 people with the surname Lavallee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,480), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.60 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 Lavallee.
Has Lavallee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lavallee went from 4,965 recorded bearers to 4,779. That is a decrease of 186 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,793 to #6,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Lavallee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lavallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Lavallee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (4,402 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lavallee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Lavallee (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 Lavallee mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived in or near a small valley. 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 Lavallee (1.60 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 Lavallee?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.