2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lebouf
A French surname derived from "le boeuf" meaning "the ox".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Lebouf. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lebouf 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Lebouf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lebouf, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lebouf
The surname LEBOUF has its origins in France, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, referring to a person from a place called Beaufort or Beufort, derived from the old French words "beau" meaning "beautiful" and "fort" meaning "strong" or "fortified."
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century, with variations such as Le Beu, Le Bauf, and Le Bouf appearing in historical records and documents. One notable example is Robert Le Bauf, a landowner in Normandy who was mentioned in the Cartulaire de la Cathédrale de Bayeux in 1256.
The name LEBOUF also appeared in the famous Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry refers to a nobleman named Gaufridus Le Bauf, who held lands in the county of Devon.
Historically, the LEBOUF name has been associated with several notable individuals. In the 15th century, Jean Le Bouf was a prominent merchant and ship owner in the coastal town of La Rochelle, France. His son, Pierre Le Bouf, served as a captain in the French navy during the reign of King Louis XII (1462-1515).
During the French Renaissance, the LEBOUF name gained prominence through the work of Claude Le Bouf (1524-1592), a renowned architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Hôtel de Sully and the Pont Neuf.
Another notable bearer of the name was François Le Bouf (1612-1679), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to Canada and played a significant role in the early exploration and mapping of the Great Lakes region.
In the 18th century, the LEBOUF family produced several distinguished military officers, including General Charles-François Le Bouf (1739-1813), who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Throughout its history, the LEBOUF surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Le Boeuf, Le Bauf, and Le Beuf, reflecting regional dialects and scribal practices of the time. However, the core meaning and origins of the name have remained rooted in its locational and descriptive origins, representing the strong and fortified places from which the earliest bearers of the name hailed.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lebouf
Among Census respondents with the surname Lebouf, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lebouf 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 Lebouf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 5
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lebouf
Lebouf 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+26 bearers (+24.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 15,083 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-10 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,484 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +26 bearers (+24.8%) | Up 15,083 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 11,484 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 Lebouf 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 | #129,825 | #141,309 | -8.8% |
| Count | 131 | 121 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lebouf bearers went from 131 to 121 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 11,484 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #141,309.
FAQ
Lebouf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lebouf?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Lebouf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Lebouf?
Lebouf ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Lebouf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Lebouf.
Has Lebouf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lebouf went from 131 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Lebouf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lebouf, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lebouf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lebouf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lebouf (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 Lebouf mean?
A French surname derived from "le boeuf" meaning "the ox". 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 Lebouf (0.04 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 Lebouf?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Lebouf at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.