2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vadenais
A French surname denoting someone who lived near a marsh or swamp.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Vadenais. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vadenais 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Vadenais in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadenais, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vadenais
The surname VADENAIS originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "val" meaning valley and "nais" meaning born or native, suggesting the name referred to someone born in a particular valley.
The earliest recorded spelling variations of the name include Vadenay, Vadnais, and Vaudnay, indicating it likely emerged from a specific place name associated with a valley location. However, the precise village or region where the name first arose is uncertain.
One of the first documented references to the surname appears in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Sixt, a 12th-century French monastic record, where a "Guillelmus de Vadenais" is mentioned as a landowner in the Haute-Savoie region of eastern France.
In the 13th century, a "Johanne Vadenais" is recorded as a resident of the village of Crissé in the Loire Valley of central France, according to the Livre des Vassaux du Comté de Champagne.
During the 14th century, a "Pierre Vadenais" served as a clerk and notary in the court of King Charles V of France, as documented in the Registres du Parlement de Paris.
In the 15th century, a "Jehan Vadenais" was a prominent merchant and member of the guild of haberdashers in the city of Lyon, according to the records of the Confrérie des Merciers de Lyon.
In the 16th century, a "Nicolas Vadenais" was a respected scholar and professor of philosophy at the University of Paris, as mentioned in the university's annals from that time period.
While the surname VADENAIS is not among the most common in France, it has a long and traceable history dating back to the Middle Ages, with various individuals bearing the name playing roles in land ownership, commerce, law, academia, and other aspects of French society over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vadenais
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadenais, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vadenais 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 Vadenais surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 111
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vadenais
Vadenais 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,164 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,931 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 12,164 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 1,931 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 Vadenais 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 | #146,201 | #144,270 | 1.3% |
| Count | 113 | 117 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vadenais bearers went from 113 to 117 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 1,931 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #144,270.
FAQ
Vadenais surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vadenais?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Vadenais. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Vadenais?
Vadenais ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Vadenais. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Vadenais.
Has Vadenais become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vadenais went from 113 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 4 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Vadenais?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadenais, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Vadenais in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vadenais appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Black (0.9%). 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 Vadenais (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 Vadenais mean?
A French surname denoting someone who lived near a marsh or swamp. 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 Vadenais (0.04 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 last name Vadenais?
Find out how common the surname Vadenais is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.