2000
#3,608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,055
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.36
Uncommon Last name
Poirier
An occupational French surname referring to someone who grows or sells pears.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,239 Americans carry the last name Poirier. That puts it at #3,868 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,475 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poirier 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
10K
1 in 33,475
Census rank
#3,868
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,929 bearers of the surname Poirier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3868th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poirier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poirier
Among Census respondents with the surname Poirier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Poirier 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 Poirier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 8,212
- Two or more races3.3% · 293
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 276
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 60
- Black or African American0.5% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poirier
Poirier 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
#3,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,453
+398 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 3.20
Rank movement Down 139 places
2020
#3,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,929
-524 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,608 | 9,055 | 3.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,747 | 9,453 | 3.20 | +398 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 139 places |
| 2020 | #3,868 | 8,929 | 2.99 | -524 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 121 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 Poirier 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 | #3,747 | #3,868 | -3.2% |
| Count | 9,453 | 8,929 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.20 | 2.99 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poirier bearers went from 9,453 to 8,929 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 121 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,747 to #3,868.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Poirier
FAQ
Poirier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poirier?
Name Census estimates that about 10,239 living Americans carry the surname Poirier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,475 residents.
How common is Poirier?
Poirier ranks #3,868 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,929 people with the surname Poirier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,239), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Poirier.
Has Poirier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poirier went from 9,453 recorded bearers to 8,929. That is a decrease of 524 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,747 to #3,868.
What does the Census say about the background of Poirier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poirier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Poirier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (8,212 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poirier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Poirier (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 Poirier mean?
An occupational French surname referring to someone who grows or sells pears. 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 Poirier (2.99 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 Americans have the surname Poirier?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.