2000
#12,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,350
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Vallee
A topographic surname denoting someone who lived in a valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,751 Americans carry the last name Vallee. That puts it at #12,365 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,593 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vallee 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
2.8K
1 in 124,593
Census rank
#12,365
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,399 bearers of the surname Vallee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12365th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vallee
The surname Vallee has its origins in France, dating back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old French word "val," meaning valley or vale. The name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a valley or came from a place with a similar name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vallee can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Valeie." This entry suggests that the name was already in use during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century.
In the 13th century, the name Vallee appeared in various records in France, such as the "Cartulaire de Normandie" and the "Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres." These documents often referred to places with names like "Valeie" or "Valée," indicating the geographical origins of the surname.
One notable individual with the surname Vallee was Jean de Vallee, a French poet and playwright born in Normandy around 1530. He was known for his works such as "La Béatitude des Chrétiens" and "Les Complaintes de l'Âme Pécheresse."
Another prominent figure was Charles Alexandre Vallee, a French geologist and mining engineer born in 1804. He made significant contributions to the study of geology and mineralogy, and his work was influential in the development of mining techniques.
In the 16th century, the name Vallee was also found in England, often spelled as "Valley" or "Vallie." One example is Sir Thomas Valley, an English politician and Member of Parliament who lived from 1505 to 1589.
The surname Vallee also has variations in other languages, such as the German "Thaler" and the Dutch "van der Valk," both of which are derived from the same root meaning "valley."
Other notable individuals with the surname Vallee include François Vallee, a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris during the 17th century, and Jacques Vallee, a French researcher and author born in 1939, known for his work on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the study of anomalous phenomena.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vallee
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vallee 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 Vallee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,155
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 106
- Two or more races3.3% · 79
- Black or African American1.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vallee
Vallee 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
#11,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,633
+283 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 267 places
2020
#12,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,399
-234 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 475 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,157 | 2,350 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,890 | 2,633 | 0.89 | +283 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 267 places |
| 2020 | #12,365 | 2,399 | 0.80 | -234 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 475 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 Vallee 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 | #11,890 | #12,365 | -4.0% |
| Count | 2,633 | 2,399 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.80 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vallee bearers went from 2,633 to 2,399 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 475 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,890 to #12,365.
FAQ
Vallee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vallee?
Name Census estimates that about 2,751 living Americans carry the surname Vallee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,593 residents.
How common is Vallee?
Vallee ranks #12,365 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,399 people with the surname Vallee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,751), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Vallee.
Has Vallee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vallee went from 2,633 recorded bearers to 2,399. That is a decrease of 234 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,890 to #12,365.
What does the Census say about the background of Vallee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallee, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Vallee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,155 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vallee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Vallee (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 Vallee mean?
A topographic surname denoting someone who lived in a valley. 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 Vallee (0.80 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 are called Vallee?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Vallee, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.