2000
#11,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,555
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Pascal
A French occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at an Easter church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,695 Americans carry the last name Pascal. That puts it at #9,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,762 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pascal 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 Pascal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 92,762
Census rank
#9,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,222 bearers of the surname Pascal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascal, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.3%) and Hispanic (12.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pascal
The surname Pascal originated in France during the Middle Ages. It derives from the Latin name Paschalis, which means 'related to Easter.' This name likely referred to a person born or baptized during the Easter season.
The earliest recorded instances of the Pascal name date back to the 12th century in regions like Normandy, Brittany, and Île-de-France. It was sometimes spelled as Paschal, Paschall, or Pascale in medieval records and documents.
One of the earliest known references to the Pascal name appears in the Doomsday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Here, it is spelled as Paschal.
A notable figure bearing this surname was Blaise Pascal, the renowned French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Catholic theologian, born in 1623 and died in 1662. He made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, physics, and philosophy.
Another prominent individual with the Pascal surname was Jacqueline Pascal, the sister of Blaise Pascal, born in 1625 and died in 1661. She was a writer and a nun who played a crucial role in her brother's spiritual journey.
In the 16th century, Étienne Pascal, born in 1588 and died in 1651, was a French jurist and the father of Blaise and Jacqueline Pascal. He served as the president of the Court of Aids in Clermont-Ferrand.
The Pascal name can also be found in the medieval records of the city of Rouen, where a family called Pascal owned a significant amount of land and property in the 13th century.
During the 17th century, Claude Pascal, born in 1588 and died in 1638, was a French lawyer and the brother of Étienne Pascal. He held the position of the King's Counsel in the Parliament of Paris.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pascal
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascal, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.3%) and Hispanic (12.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pascal 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 Pascal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.3% · 1,331
- Black or African American41.3% · 1,331
- Hispanic or Latino12.8% · 411
- Two or more races3.0% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pascal
Pascal 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
#10,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,124
+569 bearers (+22.3%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 1,026 places
2020
#9,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,222
+98 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Up 675 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,340 | 2,555 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,314 | 3,124 | 1.06 | +569 bearers (+22.3%) | Up 1,026 places |
| 2020 | #9,639 | 3,222 | 1.08 | +98 bearers (+3.1%) | Up 675 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 Pascal 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 | #10,314 | #9,639 | 6.5% |
| Count | 3,124 | 3,222 | 3.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 1.08 | 1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pascal bearers went from 3,124 to 3,222 (+3.1% change). The surname moved up 675 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,314 to #9,639.
FAQ
Pascal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pascal?
Name Census estimates that about 3,695 living Americans carry the surname Pascal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,762 residents.
How common is Pascal?
Pascal ranks #9,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.08 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 3,222 people with the surname Pascal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,695), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.08 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 Pascal.
Has Pascal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pascal went from 3,124 recorded bearers to 3,222. That is an increase of 98 (+3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,314 to #9,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Pascal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascal, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.3%) and Hispanic (12.8%). 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 Pascal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.3% (1,331 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pascal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (41.3%), Black (41.3%), Hispanic (12.8%). 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 Pascal (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 Pascal mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at an Easter church. 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 Pascal (1.08 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 Americans have the surname Pascal?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.