2000
#2,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,733
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.09
Uncommon Last name
Trahan
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the hamlet" or "small village" in Old French.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,437 Americans carry the last name Trahan. That puts it at #2,617 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,203 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trahan 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
15K
1 in 22,203
Census rank
#2,617
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,462 bearers of the surname Trahan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2617th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trahan, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trahan
The surname Trahan originates from the region of Poitou in western France, and its earliest recorded use dates back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "trahan," meaning "betrayer" or "traitor," which may have been originally used as a nickname for someone who was deemed untrustworthy or disloyal.
The name can be traced back to the village of Trahan, located in the department of Vienne, where it is believed to have been first used as a family name. In ancient records, the name was often spelled as "Trahant" or "Trayhan," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common in medieval times.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Trahan can be found in the Cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century, which mentions a certain "Radulfus Trahant" as a witness to a land transaction. Another early mention of the name appears in the Trésor des Chartes, a collection of royal charters and documents from the French monarchy, where a "Guillelmus Trahant" is listed as a tenant in the year 1286.
Among the notable individuals who bore the surname Trahan throughout history are:
1. Jean Trahan (c. 1630-1690), one of the earliest French settlers in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), who arrived in the region around 1650 and established a family that played a significant role in the development of Acadian society.
2. Jacques Trahan (1667-1738), a French colonist and military officer who served as the commandant of Fort St. Louis in present-day Illinois during the early 18th century.
3. Pierre Trahan (1695-1768), a French-Canadian farmer and landowner in the Acadian settlement of Grand-Pré, whose property was seized and family displaced during the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.
4. Joseph Trahan (1767-1840), a French-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became one of the first settlers in the Attakapas region of Louisiana.
5. Narcisse Trahan (1824-1890), a prominent businessman and politician in Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and as a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1879.
The Trahan surname has persisted over centuries and across continents, carrying with it a rich history and cultural legacy that reflects the diverse experiences and contributions of those who have carried this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trahan
Among Census respondents with the surname Trahan, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Trahan 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 Trahan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 11,236
- Black or African American9.5% · 1,285
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 399
- Two or more races2.9% · 390
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trahan
Trahan 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
#2,560
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,114
+381 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 4.78
Rank movement Down 141 places
2020
#2,617
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,462
-652 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 4.50
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,419 | 13,733 | 5.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,560 | 14,114 | 4.78 | +381 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 141 places |
| 2020 | #2,617 | 13,462 | 4.50 | -652 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 57 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 Trahan 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 | #2,560 | #2,617 | -2.2% |
| Count | 14,114 | 13,462 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 4.78 | 4.50 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trahan bearers went from 14,114 to 13,462 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,560 to #2,617.
FAQ
Trahan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trahan?
Name Census estimates that about 15,437 living Americans carry the surname Trahan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,203 residents.
How common is Trahan?
Trahan ranks #2,617 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,462 people with the surname Trahan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,437), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Trahan.
Has Trahan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trahan went from 14,114 recorded bearers to 13,462. That is a decrease of 652 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,560 to #2,617.
What does the Census say about the background of Trahan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trahan, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Trahan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (11,236 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trahan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (9.5%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Trahan (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 Trahan mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the hamlet" or "small village" in Old French. 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 Trahan (4.50 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 share the surname Trahan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.