2000
#4,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,334
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.72
Rare Last name
Lemieux
A French occupational surname denoting a person who lived in a better house or a more desirable district.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,529 Americans carry the last name Lemieux. That puts it at #4,624 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,187 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lemieux 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
8.5K
1 in 40,187
Census rank
#4,624
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,438 bearers of the surname Lemieux in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4624th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemieux, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lemieux
The surname Lemieux originates from France, specifically the northern regions of the country. It is derived from the Old French word "l'amieus," which means "the friend" or "the beloved one." This name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest known records of the Lemieux surname appears in the Armorial Général, a collection of French heraldic arms compiled in the late 17th century under the reign of Louis XIV. This document lists several families bearing the Lemieux name, indicating their presence in various regions of France at that time.
The Lemieux surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Jean Lemieux, a French soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War during the 15th century. Another prominent figure was François Lemieux, a French explorer and cartographer who accompanied Samuel de Champlain on his expeditions to North America in the early 17th century.
In the realm of literature, the name Lemieux appears in the works of French writer Honoré de Balzac, who featured characters with this surname in his novels "La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote" and "La Femme de Trente Ans." Additionally, Louis-Honoré Lemieux was a French painter active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known for his landscapes and portraits.
Across the Atlantic, the Lemieux surname gained a foothold in Canada, particularly in the province of Quebec, where many French settlers established themselves. One notable Canadian with this name was Sir Rodolphe Lemieux, a politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Commons in the early 20th century (1866-1937).
While the Lemieux surname is predominantly of French origin, it has also been adapted and adopted by families in other parts of the world, such as Belgium and Switzerland, where French-speaking communities have existed for centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lemieux
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemieux, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Lemieux 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 Lemieux surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 6,453
- Two or more races4.2% · 311
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 232
- Black or African American2.7% · 203
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 66
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lemieux
Lemieux 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
#4,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,567
+233 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.57
Rank movement Down 233 places
2020
#4,624
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,438
-129 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 2.49
Rank movement Up 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,456 | 7,334 | 2.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,689 | 7,567 | 2.57 | +233 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 233 places |
| 2020 | #4,624 | 7,438 | 2.49 | -129 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 65 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 Lemieux 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 | #4,689 | #4,624 | 1.4% |
| Count | 7,567 | 7,438 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.57 | 2.49 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lemieux bearers went from 7,567 to 7,438 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,689 to #4,624.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lemieux
FAQ
Lemieux surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lemieux?
Name Census estimates that about 8,529 living Americans carry the surname Lemieux. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,187 residents.
How common is Lemieux?
Lemieux ranks #4,624 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.49 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 7,438 people with the surname Lemieux. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,529), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.49 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 Lemieux.
Has Lemieux become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lemieux went from 7,567 recorded bearers to 7,438. That is a decrease of 129 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,689 to #4,624.
What does the Census say about the background of Lemieux?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemieux, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (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 Lemieux in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (6,453 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lemieux appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (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 Lemieux (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 Lemieux mean?
A French occupational surname denoting a person who lived in a better house or a more desirable district. 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 Lemieux (2.49 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 Lemieux?
Want to know how many people are called Lemieux? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.