2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pailet
A surname potentially describing one who worked with wooden shingles or roof tiles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Pailet. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pailet 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Pailet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pailet, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Black (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pailet
The surname Pailet has its origins in France, dating back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Old French word "paillette," which means "small piece of straw or hay." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a nickname for someone who worked with straw or hay, such as a thatcher or farmer.
Pailet is also considered to be a variant spelling of the French surname Paillette, which shares the same etymological roots. This name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany, where it is documented in historical records from as early as the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pailet surname can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen (Book of the Burghers of Rouen), a register of citizens from the city of Rouen in Normandy, which dates back to the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Pailet surname was Jean Pailet, a French Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1534 to 1592. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in France and was known for his polemical writings against the Catholic Church.
Another historical figure with this surname was Pierre Pailet, a French military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars during the early 19th century. He was born in 1780 and achieved the rank of General de Brigade in Napoleon's army.
In the realm of literature, Jacques Pailet (1872-1954) was a French novelist and poet who gained recognition for his works depicting life in the rural regions of France.
Moving into the 20th century, Jean-Claude Pailet (1924-2018) was a prominent French journalist and television presenter, known for his longstanding career with the national broadcaster, Radio Télévision Française.
While the surname Pailet has its roots in France, over the centuries, it has also spread to other parts of the world, including Belgium, Canada, and the United States, likely through immigration and diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pailet
Among Census respondents with the surname Pailet, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Black (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Pailet 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 Pailet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 8
- Black or African American3.4% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pailet
Pailet 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,183 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 950 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 11,183 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 950 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 Pailet 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 | #145,220 | #144,270 | 0.7% |
| Count | 114 | 117 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pailet bearers went from 114 to 117 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 950 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #144,270.
FAQ
Pailet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pailet?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Pailet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Pailet?
Pailet ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Pailet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Pailet.
Has Pailet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pailet went from 114 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #145,220 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Pailet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pailet, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Pailet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pailet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Hispanic (6.8%), Black (3.4%). 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 Pailet (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 Pailet mean?
A surname potentially describing one who worked with wooden shingles or roof tiles. 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 Pailet (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 are called Pailet?
If you just want to know how common the surname Pailet is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.