2000
#10,231
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,891
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Peloquin
A French surname derived from the Old French word "peloquin," meaning a furrier or a person who works with animal skins.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,238 Americans carry the last name Peloquin. That puts it at #10,791 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,854 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peloquin 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
3.2K
1 in 105,854
Census rank
#10,791
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,824 bearers of the surname Peloquin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10791st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peloquin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Peloquin
The surname Peloquin originated in France. It is derived from the old French word "peloque," which means "tuft of hair" or "lock of hair." The name likely originated in the 12th or 13th century and was initially used as a nickname for someone with an unruly or distinctive hairstyle.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Peloquin can be found in various French records and documents from the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean Peloquin, who was listed in a census record from the village of Mâcon in Burgundy, France, in the year 1376.
Another notable early record of the name Peloquin is found in the "Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen," a registry of citizens in the city of Rouen, Normandy. In this document, dated 1428, a man named Pierre Peloquin is mentioned as a merchant and property owner.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Peloquin began to spread beyond its original regions of Burgundy and Normandy. Records show bearers of the name in various parts of France, including Paris, Lyon, and other major cities.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Peloquin to achieve some level of renown was Jacques Peloquin, a French soldier and explorer who was born in Rouen in 1624. He is recorded as having participated in several expeditions to the New World, including voyages to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Another noteworthy figure with the surname Peloquin was Marie-Anne Peloquin, a French writer and poet who lived in the late 18th century. She was born in Dijon in 1746 and is best known for her collection of romantic poetry titled "Les Élégies Amoureuses."
In the 19th century, several members of the Peloquin family emigrated from France to North America, particularly to the French-speaking regions of Canada and the United States. One of the earliest recorded Peloquins in Canada was Joseph Peloquin, who was born in 1812 in the town of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Another notable individual with the surname Peloquin was Louis Peloquin, a French-Canadian artist and painter who was born in Montreal in 1865. He was known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from rural Quebec and is considered an important figure in the development of Canadian art.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peloquin
Among Census respondents with the surname Peloquin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Peloquin 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 Peloquin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,615
- Two or more races3.3% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 26
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peloquin
Peloquin 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
#10,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,988
+97 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 466 places
2020
#10,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,824
-164 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 94 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,231 | 2,891 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,697 | 2,988 | 1.01 | +97 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 466 places |
| 2020 | #10,791 | 2,824 | 0.94 | -164 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 94 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 Peloquin 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 | #10,697 | #10,791 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,988 | 2,824 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.94 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peloquin bearers went from 2,988 to 2,824 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 94 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,697 to #10,791.
FAQ
Peloquin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peloquin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,238 living Americans carry the surname Peloquin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,854 residents.
How common is Peloquin?
Peloquin ranks #10,791 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,824 people with the surname Peloquin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,238), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Peloquin.
Has Peloquin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peloquin went from 2,988 recorded bearers to 2,824. That is a decrease of 164 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,697 to #10,791.
What does the Census say about the background of Peloquin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peloquin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Peloquin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,615 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peloquin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Peloquin (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 Peloquin mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "peloquin," meaning a furrier or a person who works with animal skins. 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 Peloquin (0.94 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 Peloquin?
Find out how many people have the surname Peloquin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.