2000
#4,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,704
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.49
Rare Last name
Poulin
A French toponymic surname derived from places named Poulin, likely referring to a pond or small body of water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,480 Americans carry the last name Poulin. That puts it at #5,178 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poulin 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
7.5K
1 in 45,823
Census rank
#5,178
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,523 bearers of the surname Poulin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5178th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poulin
The surname Poulin originates from France and is believed to have derived from the Old French word "poulain," meaning a colt or a young horse. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who worked with horses or lived near a place where horses were bred or kept.
The earliest recorded instances of the Poulin surname can be traced back to the 12th century in regions of northern France, such as Normandy and Brittany. Some of the oldest spellings of the name include Poulain, Poulen, and Poullen, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and orthography common during that era.
One of the earliest known references to the name Poulin can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Bertin, a 12th-century manuscript from the Saint-Bertin Abbey in Saint-Omer, France. This document mentions a person named Radulfus Poulain in the year 1145.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the records of the Duchy of Normandy, with mentions of individuals like Guillelmus Poulain (1235) and Johannes Poulain (1278). These records suggest that the name was well-established in the region during this period.
One notable bearer of the Poulin surname was Jacques Poulin, a French poet and writer who lived from 1540 to 1592. He is known for his work "Les Delices de la Poesie Françoise," published in 1584.
Another prominent figure was François Poulin de Francheville, a French naval officer and explorer who lived from 1691 to 1769. He commanded several expeditions to the West Indies and played a significant role in the colonization efforts of the French in the Caribbean.
In the 17th century, the Poulin surname began to appear in the records of New France (present-day Canada), indicating that some individuals with this name had migrated to the colonies. One such example is Pierre Poulin, who was born in France around 1650 and settled in Quebec, where he married and started a family.
Jean-Baptiste Poulin, born in 1733 in Quebec, was a prominent figure in the development of the fur trade in Canada. He established trading posts and forged relationships with various Indigenous communities, contributing significantly to the expansion of the fur trade industry in the region.
As the Poulin surname spread across different regions, it also evolved into various spelling variations, such as Paulin, Poulain, and Poullin, reflecting the influence of local dialects and pronunciation patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poulin
Among Census respondents with the surname Poulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Poulin 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 Poulin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 6,046
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 204
- Two or more races2.9% · 191
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 35
- Black or African American0.4% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poulin
Poulin 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
#5,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,892
+188 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 2.34
Rank movement Down 269 places
2020
#5,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,523
-369 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,812 | 6,704 | 2.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,081 | 6,892 | 2.34 | +188 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 269 places |
| 2020 | #5,178 | 6,523 | 2.18 | -369 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 97 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 Poulin 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 | #5,081 | #5,178 | -1.9% |
| Count | 6,892 | 6,523 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.34 | 2.18 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poulin bearers went from 6,892 to 6,523 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,081 to #5,178.
FAQ
Poulin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poulin?
Name Census estimates that about 7,480 living Americans carry the surname Poulin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,823 residents.
How common is Poulin?
Poulin ranks #5,178 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,523 people with the surname Poulin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,480), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Poulin.
Has Poulin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poulin went from 6,892 recorded bearers to 6,523. That is a decrease of 369 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,081 to #5,178.
What does the Census say about the background of Poulin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Poulin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (6,046 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poulin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (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 Poulin (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 Poulin mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from places named Poulin, likely referring to a pond or small body of water. 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 Poulin (2.18 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 Poulin?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Poulin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.