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

Regnier, 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 Regnier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Regnier in America

Regnier is the 12476th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Regnier surname appeared 2,488 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Regnier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Regnier 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 Regnier

The surname Regnier originated in medieval France, specifically in the regions of Normandy and Brittany, around the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French personal name "Reignier," which itself stems from the Germanic name "Raginhar," meaning "counsel" and "army." The name was likely brought to Britain after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Regnier can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Rainerius" and "Reinerus." These entries suggest that the name was already present in England by the late 11th century, likely carried by Norman settlers.

In the 13th century, the name Regnier appeared in various spellings, including "Reignier," "Reigner," and "Renyer," in records from Normandy and the surrounding regions. It was also associated with several place names, such as Reignier-Esery in Haute-Savoie, France, and Reignier in Vienne, France.

One notable bearer of the surname Regnier was Pierre Regnier (1573-1642), a French lawyer and magistrate who served as the Lieutenant Civil of Paris from 1610 to 1642. Another was Jacques Regnier (1588-1652), a French dramatist and poet who was considered one of the leading playwrights of the era.

In England, the name Regnier was sometimes anglicized to "Rayner" or "Rainer." One prominent individual with this surname was Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1554-1618), the famous English writer, poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer who played a significant role in the English colonization of North America.

Another notable bearer of the name was Jean-Baptiste Regnier (1655-1709), a French dramatist and satirist who was elected to the Académie Française in 1688. He is best known for his satirical comedies and his work as a librettist for the composer André Campra.

In the 19th century, Edmond Regnier (1836-1908) was a French painter and engraver who was closely associated with the Impressionist movement. He was particularly known for his landscape paintings and etchings of Paris and its suburbs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Regnier

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

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

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

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