2000
#9,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,202
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.19
Rare Last name
Latour
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a tower or fortified building.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,722 Americans carry the last name Latour. That puts it at #9,578 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,089 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Latour 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
3.7K
1 in 92,089
Census rank
#9,578
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,246 bearers of the surname Latour in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9578th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Latour, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Latour
The surname Latour has its origins in France, dating back to the medieval period around the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French words "la" meaning "the" and "tour" meaning "tower" or "fortified house." As such, the name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near or worked at a tower or fortified structure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Latour can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in England from the year 1191, where a person named Stephanus de la Ture is mentioned. This early spelling variation suggests that the name may have been brought to England by Norman settlers following the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The Latour name also appears in several French records from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Cartulaires de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres in 1280, which mentions a Guillaume de la Tour. Additionally, the name is found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseille from 1350, referring to a Pierre de la Tour.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the Latour surname was Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788), a celebrated French Rococo portraitist who became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1746.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné (1552-1630), a French Protestant soldier, poet, and historian who fought in the Wars of Religion. His mother's maiden name was Latour.
In the 19th century, a famous French painter named Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) gained recognition for his naturalistic style and innovative use of chiaroscuro lighting techniques, particularly in his religious and genre paintings.
Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Latour name in North America can be found in the 1666 census of Acadian settlers in Canada, which lists a Jacques Latour.
These examples illustrate the widespread presence of the Latour surname throughout various regions and historical periods, reflecting its French origins and connection to fortified structures or towers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Latour
Among Census respondents with the surname Latour, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Latour 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 Latour surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 2,594
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 224
- Black or African American6.0% · 194
- Two or more races4.8% · 155
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Latour
Latour 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
#9,754
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,323
+121 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 414 places
2020
#9,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,246
-77 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 176 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,340 | 3,202 | 1.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,754 | 3,323 | 1.13 | +121 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 414 places |
| 2020 | #9,578 | 3,246 | 1.09 | -77 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 176 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 Latour 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 | #9,754 | #9,578 | 1.8% |
| Count | 3,323 | 3,246 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.09 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Latour bearers went from 3,323 to 3,246 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 176 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,754 to #9,578.
FAQ
Latour surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Latour?
Name Census estimates that about 3,722 living Americans carry the surname Latour. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,089 residents.
How common is Latour?
Latour ranks #9,578 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,246 people with the surname Latour. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,722), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Latour.
Has Latour become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Latour went from 3,323 recorded bearers to 3,246. That is a decrease of 77 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,754 to #9,578.
What does the Census say about the background of Latour?
Among Census respondents with the surname Latour, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Latour in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (2,594 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Latour appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Hispanic (6.9%), Black (6.0%). 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 Latour (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 Latour mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a tower or fortified building. 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 Latour (1.09 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 last name Latour?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Latour at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.