2000
#3,853
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,473
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.14
Uncommon Last name
Moreau
A French toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a small hill or mound.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,268 Americans carry the last name Moreau. That puts it at #3,860 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,381 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moreau 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Moreau with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 33,381
Census rank
#3,860
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,954 bearers of the surname Moreau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3860th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moreau, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moreau
The surname Moreau has its origins in France, originating sometime in the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old French word "mor", meaning dark or brown, and refers to someone with a dark complexion or hair color. It may also have been used as a nickname for someone with a swarthy or brooding demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 12th century Cartulaire de Marmoutier, a collection of charters and records from the Abbey of Marmoutier in Tours, France. The name is also found in various medieval tax rolls and censuses from regions such as Normandy and Anjou.
The Moreau name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Jean Moreau (c. 1390-1449), a French theologian and professor at the University of Paris. Another prominent figure was Paul Moreau (1571-1632), a French lawyer and jurist who served as a counselor in the Parlement of Paris.
In the realm of literature, the name is closely tied to Jacques Moreau (1702-1784), a French playwright and author known for his comedic works, including "Le Joueur" (The Gambler). Another notable bearer of the name was Jean Victor Moreau (1763-1813), a celebrated French general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, known for his victories at Hohenlinden and Oberhausen.
The name Moreau has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Moreau-de-Saint-Merry in Normandy and Moreau-de-Bretagne in Brittany. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting settlements or lands owned by individuals bearing the Moreau name.
Other notable figures with the Moreau surname include Henri Moreau (1834-1917), a French sculptor known for his works in the Beaux-Arts style; Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), a prominent French Symbolist painter whose works included "The Apparition" and "Salome Dancing before Herod"; and Émile Moreau (1838-1923), a French astronomer and director of the Paris Observatory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moreau
Among Census respondents with the surname Moreau, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Moreau 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 Moreau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.5% · 7,204
- Black or African American10.5% · 944
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 420
- Two or more races3.3% · 295
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moreau
Moreau 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
#3,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,035
+562 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 3.06
Rank movement Down 90 places
2020
#3,860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,954
-81 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 3.00
Rank movement Up 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,853 | 8,473 | 3.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,943 | 9,035 | 3.06 | +562 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 90 places |
| 2020 | #3,860 | 8,954 | 3.00 | -81 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 83 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 Moreau 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 | #3,943 | #3,860 | 2.1% |
| Count | 9,035 | 8,954 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.06 | 3.00 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moreau bearers went from 9,035 to 8,954 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,943 to #3,860.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Moreau
FAQ
Moreau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moreau?
Name Census estimates that about 10,268 living Americans carry the surname Moreau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,381 residents.
How common is Moreau?
Moreau ranks #3,860 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,954 people with the surname Moreau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Moreau.
Has Moreau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moreau went from 9,035 recorded bearers to 8,954. That is a decrease of 81 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,943 to #3,860.
What does the Census say about the background of Moreau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moreau, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Moreau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (7,204 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moreau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.5%), Black (10.5%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Moreau (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 Moreau mean?
A French toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a small hill or mound. 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 Moreau (3.00 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 Moreau?
See how many people have the last name Moreau on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.