2000
#17,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,515
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Papineau
A French surname derived from an occupational name for a papermaker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,633 Americans carry the last name Papineau. That puts it at #19,077 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 209,892 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Papineau 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
1.6K
1 in 209,892
Census rank
#19,077
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,424 bearers of the surname Papineau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19077th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Papineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Papineau
The surname Papineau originates from France, with its roots traceable back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational surname, derived from the French place name "Papineauville," a small town located in the Oise region of northern France. The name itself is believed to have evolved from the Old French word "papillon," meaning butterfly.
In the 13th century, records show the name appearing as "de Papineauville," indicating its connection to the town of Papineauville. Over time, the prefix "de" was dropped, and the surname took on its modern form, Papineau. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Reims, a medieval census from the city of Reims, where a certain Jean Papineau is listed as a resident in 1292.
The earliest known bearer of the Papineau surname was Guillaume Papineau, born around 1230 in Papineauville. He was a landowner and minor nobleman who played a role in the local affairs of the region. Another notable figure from the 14th century was Jacques Papineau, a merchant and trader who established a successful business exporting wine from the Champagne region to England and the Low Countries.
As the Papineau family expanded, members of the clan migrated to other parts of France, as well as to French colonies in the Americas. One of the most famous Papineaus was Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871), a Canadian politician and leader of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838, which sought to establish a democratic system of government in what is now the province of Quebec.
Other notable individuals with the Papineau surname include:
1. Denis-Benjamin Papineau (1786-1854), a Canadian politician and brother of Louis-Joseph Papineau.
2. Amédée Papineau (1819-1904), a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as a member of the Canadian Parliament.
3. Talbot Papineau (1780-1841), a French-Canadian seigneur and member of the legislative assembly of Lower Canada.
4. Gustave Papineau (1848-1914), a French-Canadian artist and portrait painter known for his works depicting scenes from Canadian history.
5. André Papineau-Couture (1919-2004), a Canadian composer and music educator who made significant contributions to the development of contemporary classical music in Canada.
While the Papineau name has its origins in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by descendants of the original French bearers. The name remains a reflection of its locational roots, forever tied to the small town of Papineauville and the region's linguistic and cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Papineau
Among Census respondents with the surname Papineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Papineau 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 Papineau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 1,296
- Two or more races4.1% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 26
- Black or African American0.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Papineau
Papineau 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
#17,709
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,584
+69 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 488 places
2020
#19,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,424
-160 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.48
Rank movement Down 1,368 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,221 | 1,515 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,709 | 1,584 | 0.54 | +69 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 488 places |
| 2020 | #19,077 | 1,424 | 0.48 | -160 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 1,368 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 Papineau 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 | #17,709 | #19,077 | -7.7% |
| Count | 1,584 | 1,424 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.54 | 0.48 | -11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Papineau bearers went from 1,584 to 1,424 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 1,368 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,709 to #19,077.
FAQ
Papineau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Papineau?
Name Census estimates that about 1,633 living Americans carry the surname Papineau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 209,892 residents.
How common is Papineau?
Papineau ranks #19,077 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.48 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 1,424 people with the surname Papineau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,633), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.48 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 Papineau.
Has Papineau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Papineau went from 1,584 recorded bearers to 1,424. That is a decrease of 160 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,709 to #19,077.
What does the Census say about the background of Papineau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Papineau, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Papineau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (1,296 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Papineau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (4.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Papineau (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 Papineau mean?
A French surname derived from an occupational name for a papermaker. 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 Papineau (0.48 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 Papineau?
Want to know how many people have the last name Papineau? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.