2000
#13,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,003
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Simoneau
A French topographic surname derived from a diminutive of Simon, likely denoting the original bearer's small stature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,274 Americans carry the last name Simoneau. That puts it at #14,472 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Simoneau 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
2.3K
1 in 150,728
Census rank
#14,472
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,983 bearers of the surname Simoneau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14472nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Simoneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Simoneau
The surname Simoneau has its roots in France, originating during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be a patronymic name, derived from the given name Simon, which itself comes from the Hebrew name Shim'on, meaning "he has heard."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Simoneau date back to the 13th century in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany. Historical records suggest that the name may have been initially spelled as Symonel or Simonnel, before evolving into its modern form.
During the Middle Ages, the Simoneau name appeared in various documents and manuscripts, including the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen, a registry of citizens in the city of Rouen, dating back to the 14th century. This suggests that the name was well-established in the region at that time.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the surname Simoneau was Jean Simoneau, a merchant from Rouen who lived in the late 15th century. Records indicate that he traded in wool and other textiles, and his name appears in several business transactions from that period.
In the 16th century, the Simoneau name can be found in various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and the Île-de-France region surrounding Paris. One notable figure was Pierre Simoneau, a lawyer and legal scholar who lived in Paris during the mid-16th century.
As the centuries passed, the Simoneau surname spread throughout France and eventually beyond its borders. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in the French colony of Acadia (present-day Maritime provinces of Canada), where they played a significant role in the early settlement and development of the region.
Among the notable individuals with the Simoneau surname was Jacques Simoneau (1657-1737), a French-Canadian farmer and one of the earliest settlers in the Acadian community of Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia. His descendants went on to establish themselves throughout the Maritimes and other parts of Canada.
Another prominent figure was Louis Simoneau (1786-1858), a French-Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (now Quebec) in the early 19th century.
In the 20th century, the name Simoneau gained international recognition through the work of Marcel Simoneau (1914-1992), a renowned Canadian operatic tenor who performed on stages around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simoneau
Among Census respondents with the surname Simoneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Simoneau 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 Simoneau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 1,833
- Two or more races4.0% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Simoneau
Simoneau appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,090
+87 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 472 places
2020
#14,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,983
-107 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,844 | 2,003 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,316 | 2,090 | 0.71 | +87 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 472 places |
| 2020 | #14,472 | 1,983 | 0.66 | -107 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 156 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 Simoneau 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 | #14,316 | #14,472 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,090 | 1,983 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.66 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Simoneau bearers went from 2,090 to 1,983 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 156 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,316 to #14,472.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Simoneau
FAQ
Simoneau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Simoneau?
Name Census estimates that about 2,274 living Americans carry the surname Simoneau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,728 residents.
How common is Simoneau?
Simoneau ranks #14,472 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,983 people with the surname Simoneau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,274), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Simoneau.
Has Simoneau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Simoneau went from 2,090 recorded bearers to 1,983. That is a decrease of 107 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,316 to #14,472.
What does the Census say about the background of Simoneau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Simoneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Simoneau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (1,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Simoneau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Simoneau (2000, 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 Simoneau mean?
A French topographic surname derived from a diminutive of Simon, likely denoting the original bearer's small stature. 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 Simoneau (0.66 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 people are called Simoneau?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Simoneau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.