2000
#8,490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,574
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.32
Rare Last name
Vaillancourt
A French habitational surname denoting someone from any of several places called Vaillancourt, meaning "valiant court."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,971 Americans carry the last name Vaillancourt. That puts it at #9,058 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,314 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vaillancourt 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
4.0K
1 in 86,314
Census rank
#9,058
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,463 bearers of the surname Vaillancourt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9058th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaillancourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vaillancourt
The surname Vaillancourt has its origins in France, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the French place name Vaillancourt, which itself comes from the Latin phrase "vallis anchorita," meaning "valley of the hermit."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vaillancourt can be found in the Livre des Censiers, a medieval French document from the 13th century. This text mentions a person named Guillaume de Vaillancourt, who lived in the region of Normandy.
By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of France, as evidenced by records such as the Registres Paroissiaux, which document births, marriages, and deaths in various parishes. Notable individuals from this time period include Jean Vaillancourt (1532-1597), a merchant from Lyon, and Marie Vaillancourt (1568-1642), a landowner in the region of Burgundy.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Vaillancourt families emigrated from France to New France (now Canada). One of the earliest recorded arrivals was Michel Vaillancourt (1635-1712), who settled in the colony of Acadia in 1670. His descendants can be traced through the Acadian census records of the time.
In the 19th century, the Vaillancourt name gained recognition through individuals such as Joseph Vaillancourt (1819-1899), a prominent businessman and politician in Quebec, and Pierre Vaillancourt (1842-1923), a renowned architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the province.
Other notable figures with the surname Vaillancourt include:
1. René Vaillancourt (1901-1978), a Canadian painter and sculptor known for his abstract works.
2. Pauline Vaillancourt (1924-2005), a French-Canadian author and educator who wrote extensively on Quebec culture and history.
3. Claude Vaillancourt (1933-2018), a Canadian actor and director who appeared in numerous films and television shows.
4. Françoise Vaillancourt (born 1951), a Quebec journalist and television host who has worked for various media outlets in Canada.
5. Martin Vaillancourt (born 1967), a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for several teams.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vaillancourt
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaillancourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vaillancourt 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 Vaillancourt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 3,206
- Two or more races3.5% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vaillancourt
Vaillancourt 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
#8,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,709
+135 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 344 places
2020
#9,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,463
-246 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 224 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,490 | 3,574 | 1.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,834 | 3,709 | 1.26 | +135 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 344 places |
| 2020 | #9,058 | 3,463 | 1.16 | -246 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 224 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 Vaillancourt 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 | #8,834 | #9,058 | -2.5% |
| Count | 3,709 | 3,463 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.26 | 1.16 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vaillancourt bearers went from 3,709 to 3,463 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 224 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,834 to #9,058.
FAQ
Vaillancourt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vaillancourt?
Name Census estimates that about 3,971 living Americans carry the surname Vaillancourt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,314 residents.
How common is Vaillancourt?
Vaillancourt ranks #9,058 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,463 people with the surname Vaillancourt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Vaillancourt.
Has Vaillancourt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vaillancourt went from 3,709 recorded bearers to 3,463. That is a decrease of 246 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,834 to #9,058.
What does the Census say about the background of Vaillancourt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaillancourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) 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 Vaillancourt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (3,206 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vaillancourt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%), 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 Vaillancourt (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 Vaillancourt mean?
A French habitational surname denoting someone from any of several places called Vaillancourt, meaning "valiant court." 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 Vaillancourt (1.16 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 surname Vaillancourt?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.