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

Tremblay, 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 Tremblay surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tremblay in America

Tremblay is the 4438th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tremblay surname appeared 7,996 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Tremblay.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tremblay 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 Tremblay

The surname Tremblay originated in France, deriving from the French word "tremble," which means "aspen tree." It emerged as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near or was associated with an aspen tree or grove.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in the Normandy region of France. Historical records from this period, such as local tax rolls and land registries, feature variations of the name like "de Tremblay" and "Tremblé."

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various French manuscripts and documents, indicating its spread across the country. One notable example is a charter from 1367, which mentions a "Jehan Tremblay" from the village of Tremblay-en-France, near Paris.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, many individuals bearing the name Tremblay emigrated from France to the New World, particularly to the French colonies of Acadia (present-day Maritime provinces of Canada) and New France (modern-day Quebec and Ontario). This diaspora played a significant role in the name's proliferation across North America.

Among the earliest recorded Tremblays in the New World was Jacques Tremblay, born in 1624 in the parish of Saint-Pierre, Normandy, France. He arrived in New France in 1642 and is considered one of the founding families of the French-Canadian population.

Other notable individuals with the surname Tremblay throughout history include:

1. François Tremblay (1638-1708), a French-Canadian colonist and landowner in Quebec.
2. Pierre Tremblay (1665-1738), a French-Canadian farmer and militia captain during the French and Indian Wars.
3. Marie-Victorin Tremblay (1876-1935), a renowned Canadian botanist and educator.
4. Michel Tremblay (born 1942), a celebrated Québécois playwright, novelist, and screenwriter.
5. Gilles Tremblay (1932-2017), a prominent Canadian composer known for his avant-garde works.

The surname Tremblay has remained prevalent in regions with significant French-Canadian populations, such as Quebec, New Brunswick, and parts of New England in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tremblay

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tremblay.

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 Tremblay 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 Tremblay 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 Tremblay was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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