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

Vachon, 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 Vachon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vachon in America

Vachon is the 10886th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vachon surname appeared 2,928 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Vachon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vachon 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 Vachon

The surname Vachon originates from the French language and has its roots in the Normandy region of northern France. It is derived from the Old French word "vachier," which means a cowherd or someone who tended to cows and cattle. The earliest recorded instances of this surname date back to the 11th century.

The name Vachon was widely prevalent in the areas of Normandy, particularly in the regions of Calvados, Eure, and Seine-Maritime. It is believed that the surname was initially given to individuals who worked as cowherds or had some association with the cattle rearing profession.

Historical records suggest that the name Vachon appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and their holdings in England, commissioned by William the Conqueror. This indicates that individuals with this surname may have migrated from Normandy to England during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Vachon can be found in the form of Robert Vachon, who lived in the village of Lessay in the Manche department of Normandy during the late 12th century. Another notable figure was Jean Vachon, a French poet and playwright born in Rouen in 1589.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Vachon. One such figure was Jacques Vachon (1614-1684), a French Catholic missionary and one of the first European settlers in what is now the state of Wisconsin in the United States. Another prominent individual was Pierre Vachon (1738-1803), a French-Canadian architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of many significant buildings in Quebec City.

In the 19th century, Louis-Zéphirin Vachon (1829-1905) was a notable French Canadian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. Another notable figure was Marie-Victorin (Conrad Kirouac-Vachon) (1885-1944), a renowned Canadian botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Quebec.

The surname Vachon has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Vachon-Village and Vachon-le-Bas, which were likely derived from the presence of individuals with this surname in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vachon

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

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

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

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