2000
#3,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,211
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.41
Uncommon Last name
Leger
A French occupational surname referring to a person who resided near or worked at a monastery or abbey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,230 Americans carry the last name Leger. That puts it at #3,554 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,521 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leger 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
11K
1 in 30,521
Census rank
#3,554
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,793 bearers of the surname Leger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3554th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leger, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Hispanic (7.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leger
Among Census respondents with the surname Leger, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Hispanic (7.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Leger 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 Leger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.4% · 7,290
- Black or African American13.9% · 1,358
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 738
- Two or more races2.9% · 287
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leger
Leger 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
#3,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,221
+1,010 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 3.46
Rank movement Up 44 places
2020
#3,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,793
-428 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 3.28
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,541 | 9,211 | 3.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,497 | 10,221 | 3.46 | +1,010 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 44 places |
| 2020 | #3,554 | 9,793 | 3.28 | -428 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 57 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 Leger 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 | #3,497 | #3,554 | -1.6% |
| Count | 10,221 | 9,793 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.46 | 3.28 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leger bearers went from 10,221 to 9,793 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,497 to #3,554.
FAQ
Leger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leger?
Name Census estimates that about 11,230 living Americans carry the surname Leger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,521 residents.
How common is Leger?
Leger ranks #3,554 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,793 people with the surname Leger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,230), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Leger.
Has Leger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leger went from 10,221 recorded bearers to 9,793. That is a decrease of 428 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,497 to #3,554.
What does the Census say about the background of Leger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leger, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Leger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.4% (7,290 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.4%), Black (13.9%), Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Leger (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 Leger mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a person who resided near or worked at a monastery or abbey. 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 Leger (3.28 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 are called Leger?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Leger on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.