2000
#7,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,869
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Tetreault
A French occupational surname referring to a person who managed or worked on a farm or estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,407 Americans carry the last name Tetreault. That puts it at #8,260 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,775 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tetreault 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
4.4K
1 in 77,775
Census rank
#8,260
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,843 bearers of the surname Tetreault in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8260th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tetreault, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tetreault
The surname Tetreault originated in France during the early 16th century. It is derived from the Old French words "têtru" meaning stubborn and "haut" meaning high or tall. The name likely referred to a person of tall stature with a stubborn or tenacious personality.
Tetreault is a variation of the more common French surname Têtru, which was first recorded in the Normandy region of northern France. Early spellings included Tetreu, Tetreul, and Tetreault. The name spread throughout France during the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Tetreault can be found in a 1612 census record from the village of Rouen, where a family by the name of Tetreult is listed as residents. The name is also found in various parish records and tax rolls from the 17th and 18th centuries in northern France.
Notable individuals with the surname Tetreault include Jean-Baptiste Tetreault (1638-1711), a French merchant and landowner in the province of Normandy. Another early bearer of the name was Marie-Anne Tetreault (1701-1782), a French Catholic nun and educator who founded a school for girls in the city of Reims.
In the 19th century, the Tetreault surname began to appear in Canada, where many French immigrants settled. One of the earliest Canadian Tetreaults was Joseph Tetreault (1821-1887), a farmer and businessman in the province of Quebec. His son, François-Xavier Tetreault (1848-1923), became a prominent lawyer and politician, serving in the Quebec Legislative Assembly.
Another notable Canadian Tetreault was Marie-Louise Tetreault (1876-1954), a writer and journalist who published several works on French-Canadian literature and culture. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded Tetreaults was Louis Tetreault (1832-1901), a French-American carpenter and builder who settled in Massachusetts in the mid-19th century.
While the surname Tetreault is not as common as some other French names, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals in various professions and walks of life over the past several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tetreault
Among Census respondents with the surname Tetreault, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tetreault 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 Tetreault surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 3,529
- Two or more races4.1% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 31
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tetreault
Tetreault 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
#8,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,128
+259 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#8,260
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,843
-285 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 244 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,929 | 3,869 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,016 | 4,128 | 1.40 | +259 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #8,260 | 3,843 | 1.29 | -285 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 244 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 Tetreault 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 | #8,016 | #8,260 | -3.0% |
| Count | 4,128 | 3,843 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.29 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tetreault bearers went from 4,128 to 3,843 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 244 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,016 to #8,260.
FAQ
Tetreault surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tetreault?
Name Census estimates that about 4,407 living Americans carry the surname Tetreault. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,775 residents.
How common is Tetreault?
Tetreault ranks #8,260 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,843 people with the surname Tetreault. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,407), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Tetreault.
Has Tetreault become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tetreault went from 4,128 recorded bearers to 3,843. That is a decrease of 285 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,016 to #8,260.
What does the Census say about the background of Tetreault?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tetreault, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Tetreault in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (3,529 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tetreault appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Tetreault (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 Tetreault mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a person who managed or worked on a farm or estate. 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 Tetreault (1.29 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 have the surname Tetreault?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.