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

Molière, 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 Molière surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Molière in America

Molière is the 58182nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Molière surname appeared 349 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Molière.

We can also compare 2010 data for Molière 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 Molière

The surname Moliere is of French origin, first appearing in the 16th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "moliere," meaning "a quarry of soft stone." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have been linked to the quarrying or stone-cutting trade.

Moliere is considered a locational surname, indicating that it initially referred to someone who lived near or worked at a quarry. It is possible that the name originated in various regions across France where such quarries were present.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the town of Beaune in Burgundy, France, where a certain Pierre Moliere was mentioned in 1576. Another early reference is from the parish records of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, where a Jehan Moliere was recorded in 1612.

The most famous bearer of the name Moliere is undoubtedly Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673), the renowned French playwright and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature, with plays such as "The Misanthrope," "Tartuffe," and "The Imaginary Invalid" still being widely performed and studied today.

Other notable individuals with the surname Moliere include François Moliere (1612-1668), a French painter and engraver known for his landscapes and battle scenes, and Jean-Baptiste Moliere (1768-1834), a French mathematician and engineer who made significant contributions to the study of mechanics and hydraulics.

In the 18th century, a family by the name of Moliere was recorded in the parish of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. One member of this family, Pierre-Gaspard Moliere (1742-1818), became a respected lawyer and was appointed as a judge during the French Revolution.

Another notable bearer of the name was Jacques Moliere (1670-1737), a French architect who worked in the Baroque style. He was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings in Paris, including the Église Saint-Louis-en-l'Île and the Hôtel de Soubise.

While the surname Moliere is not among the most common in France today, it carries a rich history and has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, ranging from literature and art to mathematics and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Molière

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

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

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

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