2000
#11,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Pouliot
A French occupational surname referring to a keeper or seller of young chickens or poultry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,875 Americans carry the last name Pouliot. That puts it at #11,929 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,219 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pouliot 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
2.9K
1 in 119,219
Census rank
#11,929
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,507 bearers of the surname Pouliot in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11929th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pouliot, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pouliot
The surname Pouliot is of French origin, originating from the province of Normandy in northern France during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "poulie," which means "pulley" or "small rope used for raising objects." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with pulleys or ropes, perhaps in a trade such as sailing or construction.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name is listed as "Puliet," which is likely an early spelling variation of Pouliot.
In the 13th century, records show a Raoul Pouliot living in the village of Bréville-sur-Mer in Normandy. This is one of the earliest known instances of the modern spelling of the surname.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name began to spread to other parts of France, including the region of Brittany. In 1626, a Jean Pouliot was born in the town of Quimper, Brittany, and later emigrated to New France (present-day Quebec, Canada) in the mid-1600s, becoming one of the earliest bearers of the name in North America.
Notable individuals with the surname Pouliot include:
1. Léon Pouliot (1892-1971), a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament.
2. Camille Pouliot (1892-1964), a Canadian historian and professor at Laval University.
3. Léonce Pouliot (1862-1925), a Quebec businessman and philanthropist.
4. Père Georges-Étienne Pouliot (1823-1890), a French-Canadian Catholic priest and missionary.
5. Jacques Pouliot (born 1950), a Canadian actor and playwright.
The surname Pouliot has maintained a strong presence in Quebec, Canada, as well as in parts of the United States, particularly in New England, where many French-Canadian immigrants settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pouliot
Among Census respondents with the surname Pouliot, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Pouliot 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 Pouliot surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,307
- Two or more races3.2% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 74
- Black or African American0.8% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pouliot
Pouliot 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
#12,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,579
+81 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 540 places
2020
#11,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,507
-72 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 154 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,543 | 2,498 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,083 | 2,579 | 0.87 | +81 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 540 places |
| 2020 | #11,929 | 2,507 | 0.84 | -72 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 154 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 Pouliot 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 | #12,083 | #11,929 | 1.3% |
| Count | 2,579 | 2,507 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.84 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pouliot bearers went from 2,579 to 2,507 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 154 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,083 to #11,929.
FAQ
Pouliot surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pouliot?
Name Census estimates that about 2,875 living Americans carry the surname Pouliot. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,219 residents.
How common is Pouliot?
Pouliot ranks #11,929 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,507 people with the surname Pouliot. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,875), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pouliot.
Has Pouliot become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pouliot went from 2,579 recorded bearers to 2,507. That is a decrease of 72 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,083 to #11,929.
What does the Census say about the background of Pouliot?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pouliot, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Pouliot in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,307 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pouliot 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 (3.2%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Pouliot (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 Pouliot mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a keeper or seller of young chickens or poultry. 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 Pouliot (0.84 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 have the surname Pouliot?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.