2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pierard
A French surname likely derived from the Germanic name "Petroald" meaning noble, brave.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Pierard. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pierard 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Pierard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pierard
The surname Pierard has its origins in France, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French "pierre" and "art", meaning "stone" and "skill" respectively, suggesting that the name was initially an occupational surname given to skilled stone workers or masons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pierard can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Cysoing, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, where a certain Gilles Pierard is mentioned as a resident of the village of Cysoing in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of northern France.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the Picardy region, such as the census rolls of Amiens and the parish records of Abbeville, often spelled as "Pierrart" or "Pierart". This suggests that the surname was particularly prevalent in this area during the Middle Ages.
The Pierard family is also believed to have connections to the village of Pierrepont in the Aisne department of northern France, with some sources indicating that the surname may have originated from this place name, which roughly translates to "stone bridge".
One notable historical figure bearing the Pierard surname was Jean Pierard, a 16th-century French poet and playwright (c. 1515 - c. 1585) who was a member of the renowned literary circle known as the Pléiade. His works, including the tragedy "Médée", were highly regarded in his time.
Another prominent individual was François Pierard (1578 - 1659), a French theologian and philosopher who served as the rector of the University of Paris in the early 17th century. His writings on metaphysics and the nature of God were widely influential during the period.
In the 18th century, Jacques Pierard (1722 - 1794) was a French architect who worked on several notable projects in Paris, including the renovation of the Palais-Royal and the construction of the Théâtre de l'Odéon.
The Pierard name also has a presence in military history, with Jean-Baptiste Pierard (1767 - 1826) serving as a general in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, participating in campaigns across Europe.
Finally, Auguste Pierard (1855 - 1919) was a renowned French dermatologist who made significant contributions to the field, authoring several influential works and serving as the president of the French Society of Dermatology and Syphilography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pierard
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pierard 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 Pierard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pierard
Pierard 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+5 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,471 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 725 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 4,471 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 725 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 Pierard 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 | #154,907 | #154,182 | 0.5% |
| Count | 105 | 103 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pierard bearers went from 105 to 103 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 725 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #154,182.
FAQ
Pierard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pierard?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Pierard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Pierard?
Pierard ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Pierard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Pierard.
Has Pierard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pierard went from 105 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Pierard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierard, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are 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 Pierard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pierard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), 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 Pierard (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 Pierard mean?
A French surname likely derived from the Germanic name "Petroald" meaning noble, brave. 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 Pierard (0.03 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 Pierard?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Pierard is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.