Explore the Family Name Nou

The meaning of Nou

1. Cambodian: written or នូ or នូវ, unexplained. 2. Catalan: nickname from nou ‘new, young’ (from Latin novus).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Nou increased significantly between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Nou was ranked the 39,678th most common surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had climbed to 33,343rd place - a 15.97% increase in rank. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 521 to 685, marking a substantial growth of 31.48%. Furthermore, the proportion of people named Nou per 100,000 population grew by 21.05%, from 0.19 to 0.23.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#39,678	#33,343	15.97%
Count	521	685	31.48%
Proportion per 100k	0.19	0.23	21.05%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nou

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data showed some significant shifts for those bearing the Nou surname. In 2000, around 78.89% of individuals with the Nou surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, a figure that rose to 91.24% in 2010. Those identifying with two or more ethnicities decreased sharply from 12.86% in 2000 to just 1.31% in 2010. White individuals with the Nou surname saw a slight increase from 4.22% to 4.53%. Notably, the Hispanic population emerged among those with the Nou surname in 2010 at 1.61%, having not been represented in 2000. Meanwhile, the percentage of Black individuals with this surname dropped to zero in 2010, down from 2.30% in 2000. There were no recorded American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals with the Nou surname in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	78.89%	91.24%	15.65%
White	4.22%	4.53%	7.35%
Hispanic	0%	1.61%	0%
Two or More Races	12.86%	1.31%	-89.81%
Black	2.3%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%