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

Quesnel, 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 Quesnel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Quesnel in America

Quesnel is the 30303rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Quesnel surname appeared 772 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 Quesnel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Quesnel 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.

The history of the last name Quesnel

The surname Quesnel has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "chesne" or "quene," meaning "oak," and likely referred to someone who lived near an oak tree or grove.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Chesnell" or "Chesnelle." This indicates that the name had already become established in parts of Normandy before the Norman Conquest of England.

In the centuries that followed, the name spread across various regions of France, with variations in spelling such as Quesnel, Quesnelle, and Quesnoy. It is believed that some bearers of the name may have been descendants of a noble family from the town of Quesnel in Normandy.

One notable figure with this surname was Pierre Quesnel (1634-1719), a French theologian and Jansenist writer who was a prominent figure in the theological controversies of his time. Another was Frédéric Auguste Quesnel (1785-1848), a French artist and engraver known for his landscapes and architectural scenes.

In the 17th century, the name Quesnel began appearing in records from the French colonies in North America. One of the earliest examples was Bertrand Quesnel, who settled in Quebec in 1654. Another was Louis Quesnel, a soldier who served in the French and Indian War in the 1750s.

During the 19th century, several individuals with the surname Quesnel made their mark in various fields. These include Joseph Quesnel (1809-1887), a Canadian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, and Frédéric-Auguste Quesnel (1819-1899), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris.

As the name spread across the Francophone world, it also found its way to other countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, and parts of Africa and the Caribbean, where it was adopted by French settlers and their descendants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Quesnel

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

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 Quesnel was:

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

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

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

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