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

Papineau, 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 Papineau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Papineau in America

Papineau is the 17709th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Papineau surname appeared 1,584 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Papineau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Papineau 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 Papineau

The surname Papineau originates from France, with its roots traceable back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational surname, derived from the French place name "Papineauville," a small town located in the Oise region of northern France. The name itself is believed to have evolved from the Old French word "papillon," meaning butterfly.

In the 13th century, records show the name appearing as "de Papineauville," indicating its connection to the town of Papineauville. Over time, the prefix "de" was dropped, and the surname took on its modern form, Papineau. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Reims, a medieval census from the city of Reims, where a certain Jean Papineau is listed as a resident in 1292.

The earliest known bearer of the Papineau surname was Guillaume Papineau, born around 1230 in Papineauville. He was a landowner and minor nobleman who played a role in the local affairs of the region. Another notable figure from the 14th century was Jacques Papineau, a merchant and trader who established a successful business exporting wine from the Champagne region to England and the Low Countries.

As the Papineau family expanded, members of the clan migrated to other parts of France, as well as to French colonies in the Americas. One of the most famous Papineaus was Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871), a Canadian politician and leader of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838, which sought to establish a democratic system of government in what is now the province of Quebec.

Other notable individuals with the Papineau surname include:

1. Denis-Benjamin Papineau (1786-1854), a Canadian politician and brother of Louis-Joseph Papineau.
2. Amédée Papineau (1819-1904), a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as a member of the Canadian Parliament.
3. Talbot Papineau (1780-1841), a French-Canadian seigneur and member of the legislative assembly of Lower Canada.
4. Gustave Papineau (1848-1914), a French-Canadian artist and portrait painter known for his works depicting scenes from Canadian history.
5. André Papineau-Couture (1919-2004), a Canadian composer and music educator who made significant contributions to the development of contemporary classical music in Canada.

While the Papineau name has its origins in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by descendants of the original French bearers. The name remains a reflection of its locational roots, forever tied to the small town of Papineauville and the region's linguistic and cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Papineau

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Papineau, 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!