Explore the Family Name Belval

The meaning of Belval

French and Haitian: topographic name from French bel val ‘beautiful valley’, or a habitational name from (Le) Belval, the name of several places in the northern part of France, as for example in Ardennes, Manche, and Vosges, and in Haiti. Some characteristic forenames: French Octave, Fernand, Lorette, Marcel.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Belval in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname 'Belval' increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname ranked 73,659 in terms of commonality, but by 2010 it had climbed to 71,478 - an improvement of approximately 3%. Additionally, the number of individuals bearing this last name also rose during this period, with a count of 245 in 2000 expanding to 273 by 2010, reflecting an increase of over 11%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#73,659	#71,478	2.96%
Count	245	273	11.43%
Proportion per 100k	0.09	0.09	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Belval

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Belval'. In 2000, nearly 92% of the people with this surname identified as White. However, by 2010, this figure had decreased to just over 81%, indicating a shift in the ethnic makeup of those carrying the 'Belval' name. Notably, there was a significant increase (163%) in the proportion of those identifying as Black, rising from 5.71% in 2000 to 15.02% in 2010. There were also minor changes in other categories: the percentage of people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander went from 0 to 1.83%, while the category for Two or more races changed from 0.00 to 0.

	2000	2010	Change
White	91.43%	80.95%	-11.46%
Black	5.71%	15.02%	163.05%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.83%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%