2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Recard
A topographic surname originating in France, referring to a dweller near a rocky outcrop.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Recard. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Recard 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Recard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Recard, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Recard
The surname RECARD originated in France during the late 12th century. It likely derived from the Old French word "recarder", meaning "to look back" or "to look again". This suggests the name may have been an occupational surname for a watchman or guard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name RECARD can be found in the historical records of the Normandy region of France, specifically in the town of Caen. A man named Raoul Recard is mentioned in a document dated 1187, indicating the name's presence in this area during the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name RECARD appeared in various forms across different regions of France. For instance, in 1245, a man named Jehan Recart was recorded in the city of Rouen, while in 1268, a Guillaume Recarde was documented in the town of Montpellier.
The RECARD surname is also found in England, where it may have been introduced by French settlers following the Norman Conquest in 1066. One of the earliest recorded English individuals with this name was Robert Recard, who lived in the county of Suffolk during the late 13th century.
Notable individuals bearing the RECARD surname throughout history include:
1. Jacques Recard (c. 1550 - 1628), a French mathematician and astronomer known for his contributions to the development of logarithms.
2. Marie-Thérèse Recard (1671 - 1746), a French painter and one of the few women admitted to the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture during the 17th century.
3. Pierre-Louis Recard (1795 - 1874), a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a general in the French Army.
4. Émile Recard (1852 - 1924), a French lawyer and politician who served as a member of the French National Assembly and Senate.
5. Marguerite Recard (1889 - 1962), a French sculptor and ceramist known for her modernist works and collaborations with notable architects of her time.
While the RECARD surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with variations in spelling and pronunciation occurring over time and across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Recard
Among Census respondents with the surname Recard, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Recard 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 Recard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.0% · 53
- Black or African American38.7% · 41
- Two or more races6.6% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Recard
Recard 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,758 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-7 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 15,758 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 6,138 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 Recard 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 | #146,201 | #152,339 | -4.2% |
| Count | 113 | 106 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Recard bearers went from 113 to 106 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 6,138 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #152,339.
FAQ
Recard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Recard?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Recard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Recard?
Recard ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Recard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Recard.
Has Recard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Recard went from 113 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Recard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Recard, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Recard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.0% (53 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Recard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (50.0%), Black (38.7%), Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Recard (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 Recard mean?
A topographic surname originating in France, referring to a dweller near a rocky outcrop. 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 Recard (0.04 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 Recard?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Recard at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.