2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rousselot
A diminutive French surname derived from the word roussel meaning "reddish-brown" or "reddish-blond".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Rousselot. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rousselot 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Rousselot in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rousselot, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.2%) and Black (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rousselot
The surname Rousselot has its origins in France, tracing back to the 12th century. It is a diminutive of the Old French word "roussel," meaning "reddish" or "reddish-brown," which likely described an individual's hair or complexion. This name was originally found in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Picardy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rousselot name appears in the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen, a registry of citizens in the city of Rouen, Normandy, dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name was well-established in the region during that period.
In the 14th century, the name Rousselot was mentioned in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Montivilliers, a collection of charters and documents related to the Montivilliers Abbey in Normandy. This record provides evidence of the name's presence in the area during that time.
Variations of the spelling, such as Rousellot, Rousselot, and Rousseaulot, can be found in various historical documents from different regions of France. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.
One notable bearer of the Rousselot name was Jean Rousselot (c. 1610-1686), a French composer and organist who served at the Église Saint-Sulpice in Paris. His contributions to the development of French organ music were significant during the Baroque period.
Another prominent figure was François-Victor-Émile Rousselot (1832-1901), a French Catholic priest and linguist who pioneered the use of experimental phonetics and the study of speech sounds. His work laid the foundation for modern phonetics and the scientific study of language.
In the literary realm, the name Rousselot was borne by Pierre Rousselot (1878-1915), a French writer and poet who was part of the Symbolist movement. His works, such as "Les Vies Muettes" and "Les Vies Profondes," explored themes of introspection and the human condition.
Moving into the 20th century, René Rousselot (1913-1983) was a French physicist and engineer who made significant contributions to the field of acoustics. He developed various techniques for measuring and analyzing sound waves, which had applications in areas such as architectural acoustics and noise control.
The surname Rousselot has also been associated with several places in France, including the communes of Rousseloy in the Oise department and Rousseloy in the Somme department. These place names likely share a similar etymological origin with the surname, reflecting the connection between names and geographical locations in medieval times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rousselot
Among Census respondents with the surname Rousselot, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.2%) and Black (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Rousselot 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 Rousselot surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino15.2% · 15
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rousselot
Rousselot appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-11 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,610 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -11 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 6,610 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 Rousselot 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 | #149,395 | #156,005 | -4.4% |
| Count | 110 | 99 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rousselot bearers went from 110 to 99 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 6,610 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #156,005.
FAQ
Rousselot surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rousselot?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Rousselot. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Rousselot?
Rousselot ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Rousselot. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Rousselot.
Has Rousselot become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rousselot went from 110 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 11 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Rousselot?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rousselot, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.2%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Rousselot in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rousselot appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Hispanic (15.2%), Black (2.0%). 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 Rousselot (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 Rousselot mean?
A diminutive French surname derived from the word roussel meaning "reddish-brown" or "reddish-blond". 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 Rousselot (0.03 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 many Americans have the surname Rousselot?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.