Pronovost last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Pronovost

A French surname possibly derived from the words "prou" (enough) and "voeux" (vows), suggesting an ancestry of monks or religious figures.

Pronovost, 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 Pronovost surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pronovost in America

Pronovost is the 45653rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pronovost surname appeared 468 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pronovost.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pronovost 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank45653453080.76%
Count4684455.04%
Proportion per 100k0.160.160.00%

The history of the last name Pronovost

The surname PRONOVOST originated in France and dates back to the 17th century. It was derived from the French words "pro" meaning "for" and "nouveau" meaning "new", suggesting the name may have been given to someone who was a newcomer or settler in a particular region.

PRONOVOST is believed to have been first established in the province of Normandy, where it was found in historical records from the late 1600s. Some of the earliest recorded examples of the name include Jacques Pronovost, born in 1675 in Rouen, and Marie Pronovost, born in 1689 in Caen.

In the late 17th century, several Pronovost families emigrated to New France (now Canada), settling in various regions of what is now Quebec. One of the first recorded instances of the name in North America was Pierre Pronovost, who arrived in Quebec City in 1688.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the PRONOVOST name continued to spread across French-speaking communities in Canada and the United States. Notable individuals with this surname include:

  1. Joseph Pronovost (1753-1821), a French-Canadian merchant and landowner in Lower Canada.
  2. Monseigneur Elzéar-Alexandre Pronovost (1827-1909), a Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Saint-Germain-de-Rimouski in Quebec.
  3. Wilfred Pronovost (1888-1964), a Canadian politician who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.
  4. Claude Pronovost (1935-1984), a Canadian professional ice hockey player who won six Stanley Cup championships with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s and 1960s.
  5. Serge Pronovost (born 1944), a French-Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player, best known for coaching the Washington Capitals in the 1980s.

While the PRONOVOST name has its roots in France, it has become well-established in Canada and the United States, particularly in areas with significant French-Canadian populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pronovost

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

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 Pronovost was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only94.66%443
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only1.28%6
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races1.92%9
Hispanic Origin1.50%7

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 Pronovost has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White94.66%95.73%-1.12%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander1.28%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%1.35%(S)%
Two or More Races1.92%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic1.50%(S)%(S)%

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

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

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