2000
#78,326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 227
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Pasteur
A French surname derived from the occupational term for a shepherd or one who tended livestock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 388 Americans carry the last name Pasteur. That puts it at #63,720 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 883,387 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pasteur 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
388
1 in 883,387
Census rank
#63,720
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
338
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 338 bearers of the surname Pasteur in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 63720th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasteur, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pasteur
The surname Pasteur originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "pastour," which means shepherd or one who tends to flocks of sheep. This occupation-based surname indicates that the earliest bearers were employed as shepherds or lived in areas where sheep herding was a common trade.
The name can be traced back to the late 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being a reference to a "Johannes Pasteur" in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a collection of medieval documents from the Abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres, France.
In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as "Pastour" and "Pastourel," appeared in various regional records across northern France, particularly in areas like Normandy, Picardy, and Île-de-France, where sheep farming was prevalent.
One notable historical figure with this surname was Louis Pasteur, the renowned French microbiologist and chemist, born in 1822 in Dole, France. His groundbreaking work on pasteurization, vaccination, and the germ theory of disease has had a lasting impact on modern medicine and science.
Another individual of note was Jean-Baptiste Pasteur, a 17th-century French painter and engraver, active in the late 1600s, known for his religious and mythological works. He was born in 1661 in Valenciennes, a city in northern France.
In the 16th century, the name Pasteur appeared in the records of the French Protestant Church, suggesting that some bearers of the name were among the early Huguenots, French Protestants who faced persecution during the religious wars of that era.
The surname Pasteur can also be found in various place names across France, such as Pasteur-Ville, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department, and Rue Pasteur, a street name found in many French cities, often named after the famous scientist Louis Pasteur.
Other notable individuals with the surname Pasteur include Claude Pasteur, a 19th-century French soldier and politician who served as a deputy in the French National Assembly, and René Pasteur, a 20th-century French writer and journalist born in 1897 in Paris.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pasteur
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasteur, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pasteur 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 Pasteur surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.7% · 185
- White40.5% · 137
- Two or more races3.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pasteur
Pasteur 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
#67,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 294
+67 bearers (+29.5%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 11,200 places
2020
#63,720
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 338
+44 bearers (+15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 3,406 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #78,326 | 227 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #67,126 | 294 | 0.10 | +67 bearers (+29.5%) | Up 11,200 places |
| 2020 | #63,720 | 338 | 0.11 | +44 bearers (+15.0%) | Up 3,406 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 Pasteur 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 | #67,126 | #63,720 | 5.1% |
| Count | 294 | 338 | 15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.11 | 13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pasteur bearers went from 294 to 338 (+15.0% change). The surname moved up 3,406 positions in the national ranking, going from #67,126 to #63,720.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pasteur
FAQ
Pasteur surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pasteur?
Name Census estimates that about 388 living Americans carry the surname Pasteur. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 883,387 residents.
How common is Pasteur?
Pasteur ranks #63,720 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 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 338 people with the surname Pasteur. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (388), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 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 Pasteur.
Has Pasteur become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pasteur went from 294 recorded bearers to 338. That is an increase of 44 (+15.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #67,126 to #63,720.
What does the Census say about the background of Pasteur?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasteur, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pasteur in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.7% (185 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pasteur appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (54.7%), White (40.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Pasteur (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 Pasteur mean?
A French surname derived from the occupational term for a shepherd or one who tended livestock. 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 Pasteur (0.11 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 Americans have the surname Pasteur?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.