2000
#4,235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,746
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.87
Rare Last name
Thibodeau
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a ford, stream, or small river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,383 Americans carry the last name Thibodeau. That puts it at #4,702 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,887 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thibodeau 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
8.4K
1 in 40,887
Census rank
#4,702
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,310 bearers of the surname Thibodeau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4702nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibodeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thibodeau
The surname Thibodeau originated in France, specifically in the Brittany region. It dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century. The name is derived from the Old Breton personal name "Thibaud" or "Theobald," which means "bold people" or "people's ruler." This name was quite popular during the medieval period.
Thibodeau is a patronymic surname, meaning it was formed by adding the French suffix "-eau" to the personal name Thibaud. This pattern of name formation was common in France, indicating that the person was the son or descendant of someone named Thibaud.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thibodeau can be found in the historical records of Brittany from the 13th century. In these records, various spellings were used, such as "Thibaudeau," "Tibaudeau," and "Thibaudel."
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Thibodeaus immigrated to New France, which later became part of Canada. Jacques Thibodeau, born around 1640 in France, was one of the earliest known settlers with this surname in Quebec. Jean-Baptiste Thibodeau, born in 1677 in Quebec, was another notable early bearer of the name.
In the United States, the Thibodeau surname can be traced back to the late 18th century, when some families likely migrated from Canada to New England and other regions. One of the earliest known Thibodeaus in the US was Joseph Thibodeau, who was born in 1773 in Massachusetts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Thibodeau. One example is Wilfred Thibodeau (1913-1998), a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. Another is Roch Thibodeau (1845-1921), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.
In the field of academia, Joseph Thibodeau (1934-2019) was a prominent American psychologist and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Marc Thibodeau (born 1968) is a Canadian linguist and professor at the University of Ottawa.
The Thibodeau surname has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry. For instance, Michel Thibodeau (born 1951) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter known for his work in French Canadian cinema.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thibodeau
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibodeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Thibodeau 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 Thibodeau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 6,804
- Two or more races3.2% · 232
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 52
- Black or African American0.5% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thibodeau
Thibodeau 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
#4,487
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,904
+158 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Down 252 places
2020
#4,702
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,310
-594 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 215 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,235 | 7,746 | 2.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,487 | 7,904 | 2.68 | +158 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 252 places |
| 2020 | #4,702 | 7,310 | 2.45 | -594 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 215 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 Thibodeau 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 | #4,487 | #4,702 | -4.8% |
| Count | 7,904 | 7,310 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.68 | 2.45 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thibodeau bearers went from 7,904 to 7,310 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 215 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,487 to #4,702.
FAQ
Thibodeau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thibodeau?
Name Census estimates that about 8,383 living Americans carry the surname Thibodeau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,887 residents.
How common is Thibodeau?
Thibodeau ranks #4,702 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,310 people with the surname Thibodeau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,383), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Thibodeau.
Has Thibodeau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thibodeau went from 7,904 recorded bearers to 7,310. That is a decrease of 594 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,487 to #4,702.
What does the Census say about the background of Thibodeau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibodeau, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Thibodeau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (6,804 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thibodeau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Thibodeau (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 Thibodeau mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a ford, stream, or small river. 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 Thibodeau (2.45 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 Thibodeau?
Find out how many people have the surname Thibodeau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.