2000
#3,840
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,497
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.15
Rare Last name
Provost
An occupational surname for an official in charge of a prison, college, or religious community.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,566 Americans carry the last name Provost. That puts it at #4,129 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,830 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Provost 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Provost with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,830
Census rank
#4,129
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,342 bearers of the surname Provost in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4129th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Provost, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Provost
The surname Provost is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "provost," which means "an appointed officer" or "a representative of authority." This word can be traced back to the Latin word "praepositus," meaning "one placed in charge" or "a prefect."
The earliest recorded use of the surname Provost dates back to the 12th century in France, where it was initially used to refer to various administrative or ecclesiastical officials. These officials were often responsible for managing the affairs of a particular region, town, or institution.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Provost can be found in the "Cartulaire de l'Église Notre-Dame de Paris," a collection of charters and documents related to the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
In England, the surname Provost appeared in historical records as early as the 13th century, likely introduced by Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest in 1066. One notable individual with this surname was Sir John Provost, who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1359.
In Scotland, the surname Provost has been recorded since the 15th century. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was William Provost, who was mentioned in the "Exchequer Rolls of Scotland" in 1455.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Provost, including:
1. Marie Provost (1898-1937), an American film actress during the silent film era.
2. Robert Provost (c. 1170-1225), a French poet and trouvère from Arras.
3. Eugène Provost (1839-1909), a French architect and urban planner, known for his works in Paris and Brussels.
4. Jean Provost (c. 1460-1529), a French poet and translator during the Renaissance period.
5. Antoine François Provost (1768-1826), a French mathematician and physicist, best known for his contributions to probability theory.
The surname Provost has also been associated with various place names, such as Provost, a small town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and Provost, a community in Alberta, Canada, named after a prominent local family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Provost
Among Census respondents with the surname Provost, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Provost 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 Provost surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.6% · 6,809
- Black or African American9.2% · 769
- Two or more races3.7% · 306
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 280
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 137
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Provost
Provost 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
#4,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,742
+245 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 2.96
Rank movement Down 222 places
2020
#4,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,342
-400 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 67 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,840 | 8,497 | 3.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,062 | 8,742 | 2.96 | +245 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 222 places |
| 2020 | #4,129 | 8,342 | 2.79 | -400 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 67 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 Provost 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 | #4,062 | #4,129 | -1.6% |
| Count | 8,742 | 8,342 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.96 | 2.79 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Provost bearers went from 8,742 to 8,342 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 67 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,062 to #4,129.
FAQ
Provost surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Provost?
Name Census estimates that about 9,566 living Americans carry the surname Provost. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,830 residents.
How common is Provost?
Provost ranks #4,129 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.79 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 8,342 people with the surname Provost. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,566), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.79 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 Provost.
Has Provost become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Provost went from 8,742 recorded bearers to 8,342. That is a decrease of 400 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,062 to #4,129.
What does the Census say about the background of Provost?
Among Census respondents with the surname Provost, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Provost in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (6,809 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Provost appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.6%), Black (9.2%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Provost (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 Provost mean?
An occupational surname for an official in charge of a prison, college, or religious community. 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 Provost (2.79 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 common is the surname Provost?
Want to know how common the surname Provost is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.