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

Poirier, 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 Poirier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Poirier in America

Poirier is the 3747th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Poirier surname appeared 9,453 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Poirier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Poirier 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 Poirier

The surname Poirier originates from France and dates back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "poirier," which means "pear tree." This indicates that the name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a pear tree or orchard, or perhaps someone who cultivated or sold pears.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Poirier can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Poherius" in the county of Gloucestershire, England. This suggests that individuals bearing this surname may have migrated from France to England during the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In France, the name Poirier has been particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. It is believed that the name may have originated in one of these areas, where pear cultivation was common.

A notable figure with the surname Poirier was Germain Poirier (1724-1803), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Théâtre Feydeau and the Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule.

Another prominent individual was Pierre Poirier (1719-1786), a French theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on theology and natural law.

In the realm of literature, Théodore Poirier (1846-1920) was a French poet and novelist known for his works that celebrated rural life in the Normandy region.

Jean-Claude Poirier (1938-2018) was a distinguished French anthropologist and ethnologist who conducted extensive research on the Inuit people of the Canadian Arctic.

Marie-Françoise Poirier (1935-2020) was a French artist and sculptor known for her abstract works in various media, including bronze, stone, and wood.

These examples demonstrate the historical prominence of the Poirier surname across various fields, ranging from architecture and theology to literature, anthropology, and the arts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Poirier

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

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

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

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