2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Paultre
A variant spelling of the French surname "Pautre" referring to an inn or small house keeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Paultre. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paultre 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Paultre in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paultre, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.1%) and White (13.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paultre
The surname Paultre originated in France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to derive from the Old French word "paultre," meaning a type of small horse or pony. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked with or bred these animals.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval records from the Normandy region of France. For example, a "Ricardus Paultre" is mentioned in a document from the village of Aubigny, dating back to 1189. Similarly, a "Johannes Paultre" appears in a tax roll from the town of Argentan in 1237.
During the Middle Ages, the Paultre surname also spread to other parts of France, including the regions of Picardy and Île-de-France. In the 14th century, a "Guillelmus Paultre" is recorded as owning land near the city of Beauvais, while a "Petrus Paultre" is listed as a resident of Paris in 1367.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Paultre surname. One of the earliest was Jean Paultre, a French soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was awarded a knighthood for his bravery at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another was Nicolas Paultre, a 16th-century merchant from Rouen who became one of the first French settlers in Canada, establishing a trading post in what is now Quebec City in 1608.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Paultre family emigrated to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where they became involved in the sugar cane industry. One member of this line, Jacques Paultre (1652-1721), rose to prominence as a wealthy plantation owner and served as the island's governor from 1709 to 1715.
During the French Revolution, a lawyer named Pierre-Antoine Paultre (1763-1828) gained fame for his defense of several notable political prisoners, including the Marquis de Lafayette. He later served as a judge and was appointed to the French Academy in 1819.
Moving into the modern era, the artist Henri Paultre (1874-1957) was a renowned painter and sculptor in the Art Nouveau style, known for his decorative works featuring floral and naturalistic motifs. His sculptures and stained glass can be found adorning numerous public buildings and churches throughout France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paultre
Among Census respondents with the surname Paultre, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.1%) and White (13.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Paultre 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 Paultre surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.3% · 68
- Two or more races17.1% · 19
- White13.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paultre
Paultre 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
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,867 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,867 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 Paultre 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 | #151,532 | #148,665 | 1.9% |
| Count | 108 | 111 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paultre bearers went from 108 to 111 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,867 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #148,665.
FAQ
Paultre surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paultre?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Paultre. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Paultre?
Paultre ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Paultre. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Paultre.
Has Paultre become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paultre went from 108 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Paultre?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paultre, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.1%) and White (13.5%). 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 Paultre in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.3% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paultre appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (61.3%), Two or More Races (17.1%), White (13.5%). 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 Paultre (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 Paultre mean?
A variant spelling of the French surname "Pautre" referring to an inn or small house keeper. 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 Paultre (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 common is the surname Paultre?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Paultre at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.