2000
#10,911
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,677
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Prudhomme
A French occupational surname referring to a wise or sensible man, derived from the French "prud'homme."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,173 Americans carry the last name Prudhomme. That puts it at #10,981 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 108,022 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prudhomme 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
3.2K
1 in 108,022
Census rank
#10,981
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,767 bearers of the surname Prudhomme in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10981st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prudhomme, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prudhomme
The surname Prudhomme originates from France and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French words "prud'homme," which translates to "wise man" or "prudent man." This name was initially given as a nickname to men who were respected and seen as wise within their communities.
The earliest recorded instances of the Prudhomme name can be found in various historical records from the 12th and 13th centuries in northern France. One notable example is a mention of a Robert le Prudhomme in a charter from 1196 in Normandy.
During the Middle Ages, the Prudhomme name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy, Picardy, and Île-de-France. Some variations in spelling included Preudhomme, Prudome, and Prudomme.
In the 14th century, the Prudhomme name appeared in the "Livre des bourgeois de Rouen," a record of the citizens of Rouen, indicating the presence of the family in this important French city.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Prudhomme surname was Jean Prudhomme, a poet and playwright who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Paris. His works included religious and allegorical plays.
During the 16th century, Pierre Prudhomme (1551-1616) was a renowned French lawyer and legal scholar who served as a counselor to the Parlement of Paris.
In the 17th century, Jacques Prudhomme (1617-1678) was a French architect and engineer who worked on several notable projects, including the construction of the Château de Marly for King Louis XIV.
The 18th century saw the rise of Sully Prudhomme (1839-1907), a French poet and essayist who was the first person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901 for his poetic works.
Another notable figure was René Prudhomme (1873-1947), a French politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Finance and later as the Prime Minister of France from 1936 to 1938.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prudhomme
Among Census respondents with the surname Prudhomme, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Prudhomme 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 Prudhomme surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.3% · 1,779
- Black or African American26.5% · 734
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 119
- Two or more races3.8% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prudhomme
Prudhomme 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
#10,891
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,925
+248 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 20 places
2020
#10,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,767
-158 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,911 | 2,677 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,891 | 2,925 | 0.99 | +248 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 20 places |
| 2020 | #10,981 | 2,767 | 0.93 | -158 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 90 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 Prudhomme 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 | #10,891 | #10,981 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,925 | 2,767 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.93 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prudhomme bearers went from 2,925 to 2,767 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,891 to #10,981.
FAQ
Prudhomme surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prudhomme?
Name Census estimates that about 3,173 living Americans carry the surname Prudhomme. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 108,022 residents.
How common is Prudhomme?
Prudhomme ranks #10,981 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,767 people with the surname Prudhomme. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,173), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Prudhomme.
Has Prudhomme become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prudhomme went from 2,925 recorded bearers to 2,767. That is a decrease of 158 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,891 to #10,981.
What does the Census say about the background of Prudhomme?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prudhomme, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Prudhomme in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.3% (1,779 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prudhomme appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.3%), Black (26.5%), Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Prudhomme (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 Prudhomme mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a wise or sensible man, derived from the French "prud'homme." 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 Prudhomme (0.93 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 Prudhomme?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Prudhomme on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.