Explore the Family Name Bontemps

The meaning of Bontemps

French, Haitian, and Mauritian: nickname for a happy or goodheartet man, from bon temps ‘good time’, or from a (medieval) personal name of the same origin (see Italian Bontempo).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Bontemps has increased in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 63,632 in popularity and rose to 57,914 by 2010, which is an 8.99% increase. The actual count of people with this surname also increased from 293 in 2000 to 351 in 2010, a growth of 19.8%. As for the proportion per 100,000 people, there was a minor increase from 0.11 in 2000 to 0.12 in 2010, signifying a 9.09% change.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#63,632	#57,914	8.99%
Count	293	351	19.8%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.12	9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bontemps

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts in the ethnic identity of individuals bearing the Bontemps surname between 2000 and 2010. Notably, there was no change in the Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories as the data remained at zero. For those identifying with two or more races, there was a decrease from 6.14% to 4.27%, a 30.46% decline. A similar drop was seen in the white category, decreasing from 50.17% to 39.89%, a 20.49% fall. However, there were increases in the Hispanic and black categories. The percentage of Hispanics rose from 2.73% to 6.27%, a significant 129.67% increase. Similarly, those identifying as black increased from 40.61% to 49.00%, a 20.66% rise.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	40.61%	49%	20.66%
White	50.17%	39.89%	-20.49%
Hispanic	2.73%	6.27%	129.67%
Two or More Races	6.14%	4.27%	-30.46%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%