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

Reneau, 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 Reneau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reneau in America

Reneau is the 9865th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reneau surname appeared 3,279 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 Reneau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reneau 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 Reneau

The surname RENEAU has its origins in France, specifically in the region of Brittany. It is believed to have emerged around the 12th or 13th century as a variant of the French name "Renaud," which itself is derived from the Germanic elements "ren" meaning "counsel" and "wald" meaning "ruler."

The earliest known record of the name RENEAU can be found in the Cartulaire de Redon, a collection of charters from the abbey of Redon in Brittany, dated around 1170. In these documents, the name appears written as "Renau" and "Renault," indicating the variations that existed in the spelling of the surname during that time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name RENEAU was Jean Reneau, a merchant from the town of Rennes in Brittany, who is mentioned in a contract dated 1327. Another notable figure was Jehan Reneau, a knight who participated in the Hundred Years' War and is mentioned in chronicles from the late 14th century.

In the 15th century, the name RENEAU appears to have spread beyond Brittany, with records showing individuals bearing this surname in other regions of France. One such example is Guillaume Reneau, a poet and translator who lived in Paris during the reign of King Charles VII (1422-1461).

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the RENEAU family achieved prominence in various fields. Pierre Reneau (1515-1582) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as a counselor to the Parliament of Paris. His son, Jacques Reneau (1552-1623), followed in his footsteps and became a respected lawyer and judge.

Another notable figure from this period was Jean Reneau (1589-1669), a Catholic priest and theologian who was involved in the religious controversies of his time. He authored several works on theological subjects and participated in debates with Protestant scholars.

As the RENEAU surname spread across Europe, it also found its way to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America was that of Pierre Reneau, a French settler who arrived in Québec in the late 17th century and established a family line that continues to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reneau

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

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

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

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