2000
#44,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 453
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Vienneau
A French surname indicating a person from Vienna or Austria.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 552 Americans carry the last name Vienneau. That puts it at #47,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 620,932 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vienneau 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
552
1 in 620,932
Census rank
#47,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
481
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 481 bearers of the surname Vienneau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 47529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vienneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vienneau
The surname Vienneau is of French origin and can be traced back to the region of Poitou in western France, where it was first recorded in the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "vignau," which referred to a vineyard or wine-growing area.
In the late 16th century, records show a family bearing the name Vienneau residing in the village of Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie, near the city of Nantes. Some of the earliest known instances of the name appear in baptismal records from this area, including Jacques Vienneau, born in 1587, and Marie Vienneau, born in 1593.
During the 17th century, several members of the Vienneau family emigrated to Acadia, a French colony located in what is now eastern Canada. One of the earliest recorded Acadians with this surname was Michel Vienneau, who settled in Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) around 1640.
The Vienneau name is closely associated with the Acadian expulsion of 1755, when the British forcibly deported thousands of French settlers from Acadia. Many Acadian families bearing the name Vienneau were among those displaced, with some eventually finding refuge in Louisiana, where they became part of the Cajun population.
Notable individuals with the surname Vienneau throughout history include:
1. Pierre Vienneau (1591-1660), a French settler in Acadia and one of the earliest documented members of the Vienneau family in North America.
2. Joseph Vienneau (1695-1755), an Acadian farmer and militia captain who was imprisoned and deported during the Acadian expulsion.
3. Louis Vienneau (1743-1815), an Acadian who settled in Louisiana after the expulsion and is considered one of the founding families of the Cajun community.
4. Prudent Vienneau (1814-1892), a Canadian politician and businessman from New Brunswick who served as a member of the province's Legislative Assembly.
5. Alphonse Vienneau (1854-1917), a French-Canadian lawyer, journalist, and politician who represented constituencies in both Quebec and New Brunswick.
While the surname Vienneau has its roots in France, it has become closely intertwined with the history and culture of the Acadian and Cajun communities in North America, where it continues to be a prominent name to this day.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vienneau
Among Census respondents with the surname Vienneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Vienneau 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 Vienneau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 426
- Two or more races5.8% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 10
- Black or African American0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vienneau
Vienneau 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
#44,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 479
+26 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 154 places
2020
#47,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 481
+2 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 2,721 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #44,654 | 453 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,808 | 479 | 0.16 | +26 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 154 places |
| 2020 | #47,529 | 481 | 0.16 | +2 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 2,721 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 Vienneau 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 | #44,808 | #47,529 | -6.1% |
| Count | 479 | 481 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vienneau bearers went from 479 to 481 (+0.4% change). The surname moved down 2,721 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,808 to #47,529.
FAQ
Vienneau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vienneau?
Name Census estimates that about 552 living Americans carry the surname Vienneau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 620,932 residents.
How common is Vienneau?
Vienneau ranks #47,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 481 people with the surname Vienneau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (552), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Vienneau.
Has Vienneau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vienneau went from 479 recorded bearers to 481. That is an increase of 2 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,808 to #47,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Vienneau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vienneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Vienneau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (426 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vienneau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Vienneau (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 Vienneau mean?
A French surname indicating a person from Vienna or Austria. 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 Vienneau (0.16 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 common is the surname Vienneau?
You can see how many people have the surname Vienneau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.