2000
#46,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 429
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.16
Rare Last name
Que
A surname of Chinese origin meaning "guest" or "traveler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,093 Americans carry the last name Que. That puts it at #26,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 313,590 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Que 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
1.1K
1 in 313,590
Census rank
#26,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
953
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 953 bearers of the surname Que in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Que, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.3%) and Hispanic (13.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Que
The surname "QUE" is believed to have originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from the French word "queue," which means "tail" or "end." This suggests that the name may have been originally given as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who lived at the end of a village or road, or perhaps had some other physical characteristic that resembled a tail.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname "QUE" can be found in medieval French records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. Some of the earliest known bearers of this name include Jean Que, a farmer mentioned in a land registry from the village of Boissy-sous-Saint-Yon in 1297, and Guillaume Que, a merchant listed in the town records of Rouen in 1346.
In the 15th century, the surname "QUE" was also found in various spellings, such as "Qué," "Quey," and "Quai," which may have been influenced by regional dialects or scribal errors. One notable bearer from this time period was Pierre Quey, a soldier from Normandy who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was mentioned in a military record from 1428.
As the centuries passed, the surname "QUE" spread across France and eventually to other parts of Europe and the world. In the 17th century, a man named Jacques Que was listed as a resident of the French colony of Quebec in Canada in 1657. Another notable bearer was Jean-Baptiste Que, a French philosopher and writer who lived from 1647 to 1723 and wrote several works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the 19th century, the surname "QUE" was borne by several notable individuals, including Eugène Que (1808-1879), a French painter known for his landscapes and portraits, and Honoré Que (1818-1887), a French politician and lawyer who served as a member of the National Assembly.
Other historical figures with the surname "QUE" include Émile Que (1856-1931), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, and Paul Que (1872-1935), a French poet and writer who was part of the Symbolist movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Que
Among Census respondents with the surname Que, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.3%) and Hispanic (13.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Que 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 Que surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander64.0% · 610
- White14.3% · 136
- Hispanic or Latino13.1% · 125
- Black or African American5.9% · 56
- Two or more races2.7% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Que
Que 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
#33,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 681
+252 bearers (+58.7%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Up 13,179 places
2020
#26,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 953
+272 bearers (+39.9%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Up 6,599 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #46,678 | 429 | 0.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #33,499 | 681 | 0.23 | +252 bearers (+58.7%) | Up 13,179 places |
| 2020 | #26,900 | 953 | 0.32 | +272 bearers (+39.9%) | Up 6,599 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 Que 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 | #33,499 | #26,900 | 19.7% |
| Count | 681 | 953 | 39.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.23 | 0.32 | 38.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Que bearers went from 681 to 953 (+39.9% change). The surname moved up 6,599 positions in the national ranking, going from #33,499 to #26,900.
FAQ
Que surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Que?
Name Census estimates that about 1,093 living Americans carry the surname Que. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 313,590 residents.
How common is Que?
Que ranks #26,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 953 people with the surname Que. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,093), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Que.
Has Que become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Que went from 681 recorded bearers to 953. That is an increase of 272 (+39.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #33,499 to #26,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Que?
Among Census respondents with the surname Que, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.3%) and Hispanic (13.1%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Que in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.0% (610 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Que appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (64.0%), White (14.3%), Hispanic (13.1%). 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 Que (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 Que mean?
A surname of Chinese origin meaning "guest" or "traveler". 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 Que (0.32 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 Que?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Que at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.