2000
#14,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,963
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Picou
Derived from the French word "picou," meaning a person with freckles or speckled skin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,141 Americans carry the last name Picou. That puts it at #15,157 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Picou 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
2.1K
1 in 160,091
Census rank
#15,157
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,867 bearers of the surname Picou in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15157th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Picou, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Picou
The surname Picou is of French origin, tracing its roots back to the Normandy region of northern France during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "pic," meaning "peak" or "pointed," possibly referring to a person who resided near a geographical feature such as a hill or mountain with a distinctive peak.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Livre Pelut, a census of the residents of Normandy conducted in 1195. The document lists several individuals with variations of the surname, including Picoud, Picout, and Picou. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Picou family appears to have been concentrated in the area around the town of Bayeux, located in the Calvados department of Normandy. Several historic records, such as the Cartulaire de Bayeux, a collection of charters and deeds from the 11th to 13th centuries, mention individuals bearing the Picou name who held positions of importance in the local community.
As the Picou surname spread beyond Normandy, it diversified into various spellings, including Picault, Picaud, and Picault-Picou. One notable figure was Guillaume Picault (c. 1440-1516), a French jurist and legal scholar who served as the President of the Parlement of Paris, one of the highest judicial positions in the Kingdom of France at the time.
In the 17th century, the Picou name gained prominence in the world of French literature with the birth of Philippe Picou (1642-1707), a poet and member of the Académie Française, the prestigious French scholarly institution. His works, which included odes, sonnets, and translations of classical texts, were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
Another figure of historical significance was Jean-Baptiste Picou (1762-1840), a French military officer who rose to the rank of General during the Napoleonic Wars. He distinguished himself in several crucial battles, including the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where he commanded a division of the French army.
As the Picou family expanded across Europe and beyond, the name continued to leave its mark in various fields. For instance, Émile Picou (1855-1924) was a renowned French sculptor whose works adorned public spaces and monuments throughout Paris and other major cities in France.
These examples illustrate the rich history and legacy of the Picou surname, which has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts, sciences, law, and military endeavors over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Picou
Among Census respondents with the surname Picou, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Picou 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 Picou surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.4% · 1,352
- Black or African American16.3% · 305
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 101
- Two or more races4.4% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Picou
Picou 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
#14,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,982
+19 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 856 places
2020
#15,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,867
-115 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 224 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,077 | 1,963 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,933 | 1,982 | 0.67 | +19 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 856 places |
| 2020 | #15,157 | 1,867 | 0.62 | -115 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 224 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 Picou 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 | #14,933 | #15,157 | -1.5% |
| Count | 1,982 | 1,867 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.62 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Picou bearers went from 1,982 to 1,867 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 224 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,933 to #15,157.
FAQ
Picou surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Picou?
Name Census estimates that about 2,141 living Americans carry the surname Picou. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,091 residents.
How common is Picou?
Picou ranks #15,157 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,867 people with the surname Picou. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,141), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Picou.
Has Picou become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Picou went from 1,982 recorded bearers to 1,867. That is a decrease of 115 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,933 to #15,157.
What does the Census say about the background of Picou?
Among Census respondents with the surname Picou, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Picou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (1,352 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Picou appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.4%), Black (16.3%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Picou (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 Picou mean?
Derived from the French word "picou," meaning a person with freckles or speckled skin. 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 Picou (0.62 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 share the surname Picou?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.