2000
#24,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 942
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.35
Rare Last name
Morneau
A surname of French origin meaning "the sooty one" or "blackish".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,065 Americans carry the last name Morneau. That puts it at #27,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 321,835 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morneau 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
1.1K
1 in 321,835
Census rank
#27,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
929
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 929 bearers of the surname Morneau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morneau
The surname MORNEAU has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "morneau," meaning "sparrow." This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname to someone with particular physical or behavioral characteristics resembling those of a sparrow.
The earliest known record of the MORNEAU surname dates back to 1189, when a person named Jean Morneau was listed as a resident of the village of Chateauneuf-sur-Loire in central France. Over the following centuries, the name spread to other regions of the country, with variations in spelling such as Morno, Mornault, and Mornot appearing in historical documents.
One notable bearer of the MORNEAU name was Pierre Morneau (1540-1612), a renowned architect who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Paris during the Renaissance period, including the Hôtel de Sully and the Pavillon de l'Horloge at the Louvre Palace.
Another historical figure was Jean-Baptiste Morneau (1712-1792), a French composer and organist who served as the court musician to King Louis XV. His compositions, primarily for the organ, were widely performed throughout Europe during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, François Morneau (1825-1901) was a prominent politician and lawyer from Quebec, Canada, who served as a member of the Canadian Parliament and played a significant role in the country's early political history.
The MORNEAU surname also has ties to the literary world, with Émile Morneau (1870-1938), a French novelist and playwright, being one of the most notable figures. His works, which explored themes of love, jealousy, and social conflicts, were widely acclaimed and translated into several languages.
Another individual of note was Marie-Thérèse Morneau (1892-1972), a French artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her avant-garde works, particularly her bronze and stone sculptures that often depicted human forms in abstract and stylized ways.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morneau
Among Census respondents with the surname Morneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Morneau 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 Morneau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 834
- Two or more races5.6% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morneau
Morneau 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
#24,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 996
+54 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Down 154 places
2020
#27,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 929
-67 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 2,519 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,807 | 942 | 0.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,961 | 996 | 0.34 | +54 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 154 places |
| 2020 | #27,480 | 929 | 0.31 | -67 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 2,519 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 Morneau 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 | #24,961 | #27,480 | -10.1% |
| Count | 996 | 929 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.34 | 0.31 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morneau bearers went from 996 to 929 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 2,519 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,961 to #27,480.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Morneau
FAQ
Morneau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morneau?
Name Census estimates that about 1,065 living Americans carry the surname Morneau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 321,835 residents.
How common is Morneau?
Morneau ranks #27,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 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 929 people with the surname Morneau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,065), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 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 Morneau.
Has Morneau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morneau went from 996 recorded bearers to 929. That is a decrease of 67 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,961 to #27,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Morneau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morneau, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Morneau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (834 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morneau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (5.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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 Morneau (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 Morneau mean?
A surname of French origin meaning "the sooty one" or "blackish". 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 Morneau (0.31 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 Morneau?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Morneau, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.