2000
#17,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,476
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Legros
A French surname meaning "the big" or "the large one".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,772 Americans carry the last name Legros. That puts it at #17,832 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 193,428 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Legros 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 Legros with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 193,428
Census rank
#17,832
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,545 bearers of the surname Legros in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17832nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Legros, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Legros
The surname LEGROS originated in France, derived from the Old French words "le" meaning "the" and "gros" meaning "big" or "large." It was likely a descriptive nickname given to someone of large stature or size during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of this surname can be traced back to the 12th century in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Picardy. It was often spelled as "Le Gros" or "Legros" in medieval records and documents.
One notable historical reference is the presence of the name LEGROS in the famous Domesday Book, a manuscript commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This record suggests that the surname may have been introduced to England shortly after the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, a French knight named Robert LEGROS participated in the Seventh Crusade under the leadership of King Louis IX. Records from this time also mention a nobleman named Geoffroy LEGROS who owned lands in the Champagne region of France.
During the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing the name LEGROS was Pierre LEGROS (1510-1572), a French theologian and scholar who was a vocal supporter of the Protestant Reformation. He authored several influential works on religious doctrine and was persecuted for his beliefs.
In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Jacques LEGROS (1635-1716), a French painter and engraver who studied under the renowned artist Charles Le Brun. Many of his works can be found in museums across Europe.
Another significant figure was Jean-Baptiste LEGROS (1719-1803), a French sculptor and architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice.
In the 19th century, Alphonse LEGROS (1837-1911) was a celebrated French painter and sculptor who spent much of his career in England. He was a prominent figure in the French Realist movement and served as a professor at the Slade School of Fine Art in London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Legros
Among Census respondents with the surname Legros, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Legros 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 Legros surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.3% · 993
- Black or African American26.1% · 404
- Two or more races4.6% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Legros
Legros 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
#17,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,648
+172 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Up 384 places
2020
#17,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,545
-103 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Down 650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,566 | 1,476 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,182 | 1,648 | 0.56 | +172 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 384 places |
| 2020 | #17,832 | 1,545 | 0.52 | -103 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 650 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 Legros 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 | #17,182 | #17,832 | -3.8% |
| Count | 1,648 | 1,545 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.56 | 0.52 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Legros bearers went from 1,648 to 1,545 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 650 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,182 to #17,832.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Legros
FAQ
Legros surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Legros?
Name Census estimates that about 1,772 living Americans carry the surname Legros. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 193,428 residents.
How common is Legros?
Legros ranks #17,832 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,545 people with the surname Legros. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,772), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Legros.
Has Legros become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Legros went from 1,648 recorded bearers to 1,545. That is a decrease of 103 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,182 to #17,832.
What does the Census say about the background of Legros?
Among Census respondents with the surname Legros, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Legros in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.3% (993 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Legros appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.3%), Black (26.1%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Legros (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 Legros mean?
A French surname meaning "the big" or "the large 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 Legros (0.52 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 Legros?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.