2000
#11,134
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,614
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Rabideau
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "river of the rabbit warren" or "rabbit river."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,760 Americans carry the last name Rabideau. That puts it at #12,332 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,186 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rabideau 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
2.8K
1 in 124,186
Census rank
#12,332
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,407 bearers of the surname Rabideau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12332nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rabideau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rabideau
The surname Rabideau has its origins in France, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "rabide," meaning "rabid" or "furious." This could suggest that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone with a fierce or aggressive temperament.
The earliest recorded instances of the Rabideau surname can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northwestern France. It is possible that the name may have originated from a place name or a geographic location, as many French surnames were derived from the names of towns or villages.
One of the earliest known records of the Rabideau name appears in the parish registers of Saint-Malo, a coastal town in Brittany, where a certain Jean Rabideau was documented as a resident in the late 16th century. Another early reference can be found in the tax records of the Normandy region, where a family bearing the name Rabideau was listed as landowners in the early 17th century.
Notable individuals with the Rabideau surname throughout history include:
1. Jacques Rabideau (1625-1692), a French merchant and explorer who was among the first European settlers in what is now the Canadian province of Quebec.
2. Marie-Françoise Rabideau (1721-1795), a prominent figure in the early French settlement of Louisiana, known for her work in establishing one of the first schools in the region.
3. Pierre Rabideau (1780-1846), a French-Canadian soldier who fought in the War of 1812 and later became a respected community leader in the town of Berthier, Quebec.
4. Émile Rabideau (1842-1912), a French-Canadian sculptor and artist renowned for his ecclesiastical works and public monuments throughout Quebec.
5. Yvonne Rabideau (1901-1988), a French-American author and poet whose works explored themes of identity, immigration, and the experience of the French diaspora in the United States.
While the Rabideau surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through French colonial expansion and immigration. Over time, variations in spelling, such as Rabidoux and Rabideaux, have emerged, reflecting the linguistic and cultural diversity of the regions where the name has been adopted.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rabideau
Among Census respondents with the surname Rabideau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rabideau 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 Rabideau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,215
- Two or more races3.8% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rabideau
Rabideau 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
#11,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,693
+79 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 508 places
2020
#12,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,407
-286 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 690 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,134 | 2,614 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,642 | 2,693 | 0.91 | +79 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 508 places |
| 2020 | #12,332 | 2,407 | 0.81 | -286 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 690 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 Rabideau 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 | #11,642 | #12,332 | -5.9% |
| Count | 2,693 | 2,407 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.81 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rabideau bearers went from 2,693 to 2,407 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 690 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,642 to #12,332.
FAQ
Rabideau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rabideau?
Name Census estimates that about 2,760 living Americans carry the surname Rabideau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,186 residents.
How common is Rabideau?
Rabideau ranks #12,332 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,407 people with the surname Rabideau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,760), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Rabideau.
Has Rabideau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rabideau went from 2,693 recorded bearers to 2,407. That is a decrease of 286 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,642 to #12,332.
What does the Census say about the background of Rabideau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rabideau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Rabideau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,215 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rabideau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Rabideau (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 Rabideau mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "river of the rabbit warren" or "rabbit river." 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 Rabideau (0.81 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 Rabideau?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Rabideau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.