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

Payant, 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 Payant surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Payant in America

Payant is the 73911th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Payant surname appeared 262 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Payant.

We can also compare 2010 data for Payant 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 Payant

The surname Payant is of French origin, deriving from the Old French word "paiier," meaning "to pay." The name likely originated in the 12th or 13th century in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Payant can be found in the Testa de Nevill, a legal document from the 13th century that recorded feudal landholdings in parts of England. The name appeared as "Payant" in this record, suggesting its use at that time.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Payant may have been associated with individuals involved in financial transactions, such as tax collectors, merchants, or money lenders. It is possible that the name was originally an occupational surname given to someone whose profession involved collecting payments or managing finances.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Payant was Jean Payant (c. 1530-1598), a French lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Parlement of Paris, a judicial and legislative body in the capital city.

Another historically significant person with the Payant surname was François Payant (1658-1738), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to what is now Canada in the late 17th century. He worked among the indigenous peoples of New France, particularly in the area of modern-day Quebec.

In the 18th century, the name Payant appeared in records from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). One individual, Pierre Payant (1721-1789), was a plantation owner and prominent figure in the colony's economy and society.

During the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Payant surname was Émile Payant (1832-1907), a French artist and painter who studied under the renowned painter Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. Payant's works were exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon and are held in various museum collections.

Another individual of historical note was Marie-Françoise Payant (1873-1952), a French-Canadian educator and pioneer in the field of teaching methods for students with special needs. She established several schools and institutions dedicated to providing education for children with disabilities in the province of Quebec.

While these are just a few examples, the surname Payant has a long history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from lawyers and politicians to missionaries, artists, and educators.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Payant

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Payant, please contact us.

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