2000
#113,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Labute
A French surname derived from the phrase "la butte" meaning "the hill".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Labute. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Labute 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Labute in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Labute, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Labute
The surname LABUTE is believed to have originated in France, specifically in the northern regions of the country. It dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old French word "but," which referred to a boundary or limit, possibly indicating that the original bearer lived near a boundary or border area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LABUTE can be found in a medieval document from the city of Rouen, dated around 1260. This document mentions a certain "Jehan LaBute" who was a landowner in the region. Another early reference to the name appears in the Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Paris, a collection of charters and records related to the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, from the late 13th century, where a "Guillaume LaBute" is mentioned as a resident of the city.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the LABUTE name began to spread across various regions of France, with records showing individuals bearing the name in places like Normandy, Picardy, and the Île-de-France region surrounding Paris. One notable figure from this period was Jean LABUTE, a merchant and alderman who lived in Rouen in the late 15th century.
As the centuries progressed, the LABUTE name continued to be found in various parts of France, with some variations in spelling, such as LaBute, Labute, and LaButte. In the 17th century, a prominent individual named Pierre LABUTE was a successful merchant and landowner in the city of Bordeaux.
In the 18th century, the LABUTE name gained recognition with the birth of François-René LABUTE (1707-1780), a celebrated French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Hôtel de Salm and the Chapelle de la Vierge at the Church of Saint-Sulpice.
Another notable figure from this period was Jean-Baptiste LABUTE (1745-1826), a French playwright and author who wrote numerous comedies and satires that were popular in his time. He was also known for his work as a journalist and editor of several literary publications.
As the LABUTE name spread beyond France, it can be found in various other countries, including Canada and the United States, where individuals of French descent carried the name during periods of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Labute
Among Census respondents with the surname Labute, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Labute 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 Labute surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Labute
Labute 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
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
-2 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,795 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-31 bearers (-22.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 27,132 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #113,519 | 143 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | -2 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 8,795 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -31 bearers (-22.0%) | Down 27,132 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 Labute 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 | #122,314 | #149,446 | -22.2% |
| Count | 141 | 110 | -22.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -26.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Labute bearers went from 141 to 110 (-22.0% change). The surname moved down 27,132 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #149,446.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Labute
FAQ
Labute surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Labute?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Labute. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Labute?
Labute ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Labute. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Labute.
Has Labute become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Labute went from 141 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 31 (-22.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #122,314 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Labute?
Among Census respondents with the surname Labute, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Labute in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Labute appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Labute (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 Labute mean?
A French surname derived from the phrase "la butte" meaning "the hill". 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 Labute (0.04 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 Labute?
If you just want to know how many people are called Labute, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.