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

Lemieux, 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 Lemieux surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lemieux in America

Lemieux is the 4689th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lemieux surname appeared 7,567 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 Lemieux.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lemieux 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 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lemieux

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!