2000
#20,945
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,170
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.43
Rare Last name
Escue
A surname possibly derived from an Old French word related to a squire or shield-bearer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,235 Americans carry the last name Escue. That puts it at #24,236 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 277,534 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Escue 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
1.2K
1 in 277,534
Census rank
#24,236
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,077 bearers of the surname Escue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24236th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Escue, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Escue
The surname ESCUE has its origins in France, specifically in the northern region of Normandy. The name can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "escu," which means "shield" or "coat of arms."
This surname was likely given to individuals who were either shield-makers or those who bore a distinctive shield or coat of arms. It could also have been a descriptive name for someone who worked as a shield-bearer or an armiger, carrying the shield for a knight or nobleman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ESCUE can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property values commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Escuet," a variation of the modern spelling.
During the Norman conquest of England in 1066, many Norman families, including those bearing the surname ESCUE, accompanied William the Conqueror and settled in various parts of the country. Some of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname include:
1. Robert Escue, a landowner in Oxfordshire, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1176.
2. Jean Escue, a Norman knight who fought alongside Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade (1189-1192).
3. Guillaume Escue, a prominent merchant from Rouen, who was granted trading rights in London in the early 13th century.
4. Marguerite Escue, a noblewoman and heiress from Normandy, who married into the influential Beaumont family in 1312.
5. Étienne Escue, a French soldier and explorer who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his voyages to Canada in the 16th century.
The surname ESCUE has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Escueville, a village in Normandy, and Escueillens, a commune in the Aude department of southern France. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Escue
Among Census respondents with the surname Escue, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Escue 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 Escue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 1,009
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 29
- Two or more races2.3% · 25
- Black or African American0.6% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Escue
Escue 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
#22,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,161
-9 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 1,271 places
2020
#24,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,077
-84 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 2,020 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,945 | 1,170 | 0.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,216 | 1,161 | 0.39 | -9 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 1,271 places |
| 2020 | #24,236 | 1,077 | 0.36 | -84 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 2,020 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 Escue 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 | #22,216 | #24,236 | -9.1% |
| Count | 1,161 | 1,077 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.39 | 0.36 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Escue bearers went from 1,161 to 1,077 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 2,020 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,216 to #24,236.
FAQ
Escue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Escue?
Name Census estimates that about 1,235 living Americans carry the surname Escue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 277,534 residents.
How common is Escue?
Escue ranks #24,236 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.36 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 1,077 people with the surname Escue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,235), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.36 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 Escue.
Has Escue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Escue went from 1,161 recorded bearers to 1,077. That is a decrease of 84 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #22,216 to #24,236.
What does the Census say about the background of Escue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Escue, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Escue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (1,009 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Escue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Escue (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 Escue mean?
A surname possibly derived from an Old French word related to a squire or shield-bearer. 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 Escue (0.36 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 Escue?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Escue on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.