2000
#29,390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 758
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.28
Very Rare Last name
Quesnel
A French surname derived from the word "chêne" meaning oak tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 907 Americans carry the last name Quesnel. That puts it at #31,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 377,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quesnel 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
907
1 in 377,899
Census rank
#31,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
791
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 791 bearers of the surname Quesnel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quesnel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quesnel
Among Census respondents with the surname Quesnel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Quesnel 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 Quesnel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 713
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 43
- Two or more races2.8% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 11
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quesnel
Quesnel 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
#30,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 772
+14 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 913 places
2020
#31,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 791
+19 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 1,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #29,390 | 758 | 0.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #30,303 | 772 | 0.26 | +14 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 913 places |
| 2020 | #31,375 | 791 | 0.26 | +19 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 1,072 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 Quesnel 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 | #30,303 | #31,375 | -3.5% |
| Count | 772 | 791 | 2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.26 | 0.26 | 1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quesnel bearers went from 772 to 791 (+2.5% change). The surname moved down 1,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #30,303 to #31,375.
FAQ
Quesnel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quesnel?
Name Census estimates that about 907 living Americans carry the surname Quesnel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 377,899 residents.
How common is Quesnel?
Quesnel ranks #31,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 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 791 people with the surname Quesnel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 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 Quesnel.
Has Quesnel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quesnel went from 772 recorded bearers to 791. That is an increase of 19 (+2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #30,303 to #31,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Quesnel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quesnel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Quesnel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (713 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quesnel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Quesnel (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 Quesnel mean?
A French surname derived from the word "chêne" meaning oak tree. 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 Quesnel (0.26 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 many people have the last name Quesnel?
If you just want to know how common the surname Quesnel is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.