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

Saint-Jean, 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 Saint-Jean surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saint-Jean in America

Saint-Jean is the 30339th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saint-Jean surname appeared 771 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 Saint-Jean.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saint-Jean 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 Saint-Jean

The surname SAINTJEAN originated in France during the 12th century. It is derived from the French words "saint" meaning "holy" and "jean" meaning "John", referring to St. John the Baptist. The name was likely given to someone who lived near a church or village dedicated to St. John.

During the Middle Ages, the SAINTJEAN surname appeared in various records and manuscripts across France. One notable example is the Livre des Métiers, a 13th-century Parisian tax record that listed several individuals with this surname, such as Jehan Saintjean, a tailor, and Gilles Saintjean, a baker.

The earliest recorded instance of the SAINTJEAN surname dates back to 1198, when a man named Raoul Saintjean was mentioned in the Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Paris, a collection of charters and deeds related to the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

In the 14th century, a branch of the SAINTJEAN family settled in the village of Saint-Jean-de-Monts, located in the Vendée region of western France. This area was once known as "Saint-Jean-des-Monts", which may have influenced the spelling of their surname.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the SAINTJEAN surname, including:

1. Pierre Saintjean (1542-1622), a French sculptor and architect who worked on the Château de Fontainebleau and the Louvre Palace.
2. Jacques Saintjean (1670-1746), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to New France (present-day Canada) and established missions among the indigenous tribes.
3. Marie-Madeleine Saintjean (1720-1798), a French playwright and author known for her works on women's rights and education.
4. Étienne Saintjean (1788-1865), a French general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the Belgian Revolution.
5. Émile Saintjean (1854-1928), a French painter and sculptor known for his impressionist landscapes and portraits.

The SAINTJEAN surname has maintained its presence in France and other French-speaking regions, with various spelling variations such as Saint-Jean, Saintjan, and Saintgeon.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saint-Jean

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Saint-Jean.

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 Saint-Jean 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 Saint-Jean 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 Saint-Jean was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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