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

Rideau, 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 Rideau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rideau in America

Rideau is the 26534th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rideau surname appeared 919 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rideau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rideau 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 Rideau

The surname Rideau originated in France, specifically in the region of Normandy, during the medieval period. It is derived from the French word "rideau," meaning "curtain" or "veil." This name may have initially referred to someone who worked with curtains or veils, perhaps as a maker or seller.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Rideau surname is found in the "Livre Terrien de Philippe d'Alsace" from the 12th century, which was a cadastral survey of the County of Flanders. This document lists a person named Raoul Rideau, suggesting that the name was already in use at that time.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various records from Normandy, such as the "Rôles de l'Échiquier de Normandie." This indicates that the name was well-established in the region during the Middle Ages.

The Rideau surname can be traced back to several place names in Normandy, including Rideau (a commune in the Eure department) and Ridauville (a commune in the Seine-Maritime department). These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa.

One notable historical figure with the Rideau surname was Jean-Baptiste Rideau (1736-1784), a French scholar and writer who was born in Rouen, Normandy. He was the author of several works on philosophy and literature.

Another person of note was Claude Rideau (1611-1673), a French architect and engineer who was involved in the construction of several notable buildings, including the Château de Versailles and the Val-de-Grâce church in Paris.

In the 17th century, the Rideau surname also appeared in Canada, likely carried by French settlers. One prominent individual was François Rideau (1624-1691), a merchant and landowner who was one of the earliest settlers in the town of Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

Another Canadian with this surname was Joseph Rideau (1773-1854), a fur trader and explorer who played a role in the development of the Canadian Northwest Territories. He is also known for having given his name to the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Rideau surname continued to be found in various records from France and Canada, further solidifying its presence in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rideau

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!