2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Paiement
A French surname meaning "payment" or "tax collector."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Paiement. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paiement 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Paiement in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paiement, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paiement
The surname PAIEMENT originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "paiement," which means "payment" or "toll." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked as a collector of tolls or payments, possibly at a bridge, gate, or other checkpoint.
The earliest recorded instances of the PAIEMENT surname date back to the 13th century in various regions of northern France, including Normandy, Picardy, and Île-de-France. In medieval records and manuscripts, the name appeared with various spellings, such as "Paiement," "Payement," and "Paiment."
One of the earliest known bearers of the PAIEMENT name was Jean Paiement, a merchant from Paris who was mentioned in a charter dated 1275. Another notable figure was Guillaume Paiement, a tax collector from Rouen who lived in the late 14th century.
During the Renaissance period, the PAIEMENT surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Belgium and Switzerland. In the 16th century, a prominent individual with this name was Jacques Paiement, a lawyer and judge from Dijon, France, who lived from 1525 to 1598.
As the PAIEMENT name continued to evolve, it became associated with various place names, such as Payerne in Switzerland and Paimboeuf in western France. This led to variations like "Paierne" and "Paimboeuf" being used as surnames by some families.
In the 17th century, one of the most notable bearers of the PAIEMENT name was Pierre Paiement, a French explorer and fur trader who was active in the Great Lakes region of North America. He was born around 1650 and is believed to have been one of the first Europeans to explore parts of present-day Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Jean-Baptiste Paiement, a French-Canadian politician and lawyer who lived from 1796 to 1858. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and played a significant role in the political affairs of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paiement
Among Census respondents with the surname Paiement, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Paiement 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 Paiement surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paiement
Paiement appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,113 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 Paiement 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 | #142,108 | #147,221 | -3.6% |
| Count | 117 | 113 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paiement bearers went from 117 to 113 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,113 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #147,221.
FAQ
Paiement surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paiement?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Paiement. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Paiement?
Paiement ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Paiement. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Paiement.
Has Paiement become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paiement went from 117 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Paiement?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paiement, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Paiement in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paiement appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Paiement (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 Paiement mean?
A French surname meaning "payment" or "tax collector." 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 Paiement (0.04 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 last name Paiement?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Paiement is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.