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

Plourde, 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 Plourde surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plourde in America

Plourde is the 7866th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plourde surname appeared 4,208 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Plourde.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plourde 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 Plourde

The surname Plourde is of French origin and can be traced back to the Brittany region of northwestern France. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "plour," which means "to weep" or "to lament." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who was perceived as being prone to crying or lamenting.

The earliest recorded instances of the Plourde surname date back to the 16th century. One of the earliest known records is from a document dated 1563, which mentions a certain "Jehan Plourde" residing in the town of Rennes, the capital of Brittany.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records and legal documents across Brittany. For example, a baptismal record from 1612 in the village of Plougonven mentions a "Marie Plourde," indicating the surname's presence in that area.

During the French colonization of North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, several families bearing the Plourde surname emigrated from Brittany to the newly established French colonies, particularly in what is now Quebec and Acadia (present-day Canadian provinces). One of the earliest recorded Plourde settlers in New France was Pierre Plourde, who arrived in Quebec around 1665.

Notable individuals with the Plourde surname throughout history include:

1. Jacques Plourde (1603-1677), a merchant and landowner in the town of Dinan, Brittany.
2. Marie-Anne Plourde (1732-1801), one of the founding settlers of the Madawaska region in present-day New Brunswick, Canada.
3. Louis Plourde (1764-1848), a farmer and militia member during the American Revolutionary War in Quebec.
4. François-Xavier Plourde (1818-1892), a Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in Quebec.
5. Édouard Plourde (1853-1910), a politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Canadian Parliament.

While the Plourde surname has its roots in Brittany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly in Canada and the United States, due to migration and displacement over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plourde

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

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

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

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