2000
#15,364
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,754
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Bonet
A French topographic surname for someone living near a small growth of trees or a small wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,324 Americans carry the last name Bonet. That puts it at #14,217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,485 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bonet 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
2.3K
1 in 147,485
Census rank
#14,217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,027 bearers of the surname Bonet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonet, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.2%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bonet
The surname Bonet is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "bon" meaning "good" or "pleasing." It likely originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive nickname for someone with an agreeable demeanor or pleasant appearance.
The earliest known record of the name Bonet can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Bonnet." This Norman-French spelling suggests that the name was brought to England by the Norman conquerors after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name Bonet was prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It was also found in the Languedoc region in the south, where it was sometimes spelled "Bonnet" or "Bonnett."
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Bonet was Estienne Bonet, a French philosopher and theologian born around 1200 in Béruges, near Poitiers. He is notable for his contributions to the medieval scholastic tradition and his writings on the nature of the soul.
In the 14th century, the name Bonet appeared in various English records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it was spelled "Bonett." This suggests that the name had become established in England after the Norman Conquest.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure with the surname Bonet was Théodore de Bèze (1519-1605), a French Protestant theologian and scholar. He was a close associate of John Calvin and played a significant role in the Reformation movement.
Another prominent individual with the surname Bonet was Juan Pablo Bonet (1573-1633), a Spanish scholar and pioneer in the education of the deaf. He is credited with publishing one of the earliest works on sign language and methods for teaching the deaf to read and write.
In the 18th century, the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Bonet (1683-1753) made important contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
The 19th century saw the birth of the Spanish painter and printmaker Isidre Nonell Monturiol (1872-1911), better known as Isidre Nonell or Isidro Nonell. He was a prominent figure in the Catalan Modernism movement and is renowned for his distinctive style and depictions of Barcelona's working-class neighborhoods.
Throughout its history, the surname Bonet has been associated with various place names, such as Bonnet in the Haute-Savoie region of France, and Bonnétable in the Sarthe department, which was formerly known as "Bonnet-Estaule" in the 11th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bonet
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonet, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.2%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Bonet 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 Bonet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.2% · 1,625
- White14.8% · 300
- Black or African American3.2% · 64
- Two or more races1.2% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bonet
Bonet 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
#13,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,187
+433 bearers (+24.7%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 1,540 places
2020
#14,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,027
-160 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 393 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,364 | 1,754 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,824 | 2,187 | 0.74 | +433 bearers (+24.7%) | Up 1,540 places |
| 2020 | #14,217 | 2,027 | 0.68 | -160 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 393 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 Bonet 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 | #13,824 | #14,217 | -2.8% |
| Count | 2,187 | 2,027 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.68 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bonet bearers went from 2,187 to 2,027 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 393 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,824 to #14,217.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bonet
FAQ
Bonet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bonet?
Name Census estimates that about 2,324 living Americans carry the surname Bonet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,485 residents.
How common is Bonet?
Bonet ranks #14,217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,027 people with the surname Bonet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,324), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Bonet.
Has Bonet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bonet went from 2,187 recorded bearers to 2,027. That is a decrease of 160 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,824 to #14,217.
What does the Census say about the background of Bonet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonet, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.2%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (3.2%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bonet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (1,625 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bonet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (80.2%), White (14.8%), Black (3.2%). 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 Bonet (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 Bonet mean?
A French topographic surname for someone living near a small growth of trees or a small wood. 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 Bonet (0.68 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 Bonet?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.