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

Leger, 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 Leger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leger in America

Leger is the 3497th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leger surname appeared 10,221 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Leger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leger 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 Leger

The surname Leger has its origins in France, and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "leger," which means "light" or "nimble." This surname was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone who was particularly agile or quick on their feet.

The earliest recorded instances of the Leger surname can be found in various medieval records and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. For example, there are references to individuals with this name in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Redon, a collection of charters from the Abbey of Redon in Brittany, dating back to the 12th century.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Leger surname was Gilles Leger, a French nobleman and military leader who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English in the 14th century. He was born around 1320 and died in 1380.

Another notable figure with this surname was Jacques Leger, a French Huguenot pastor and martyr who was executed for his Protestant beliefs in 1654. He was born in Normandy in 1615 and died in Grenoble at the age of 39.

In the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Leger was a French painter and engraver who was born in Paris in 1737 and died in 1798. He is known for his landscapes and etchings of historical events.

The Leger surname also appears in various place names throughout France, such as Lège-Cap-Ferret, a commune in the Gironde department, and Léger, a commune in the Mayenne department. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in certain regions.

Other notable individuals with the Leger surname include Louis-Auguste Leger, a 19th-century French orientalist and linguist who specialized in the study of Slavic languages, and Fernand Leger, a renowned 20th-century French painter and sculptor who was a prominent figure in the Cubist movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leger

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

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 Leger 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 Leger 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 Leger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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