Explore the Family Name Petite

The meaning of Petite

French: from the feminine form of Petit and, in North America, (also) an altered form of this. Some characteristic forenames: French Celestine, Jacques.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Petite has seen a growth in popularity. In 2000, it was ranked 28,433rd and had about 790 bearers in the United States. Ten years later, the surname had moved up to 26,873rd in rank with a total of 904 recorded bearers, marking an increase of 14.43%. It's also worth noting that the proportion of people carrying the Petite surname per 100,000 residents increased from 0.29 to 0.31, signifying a change of 6.9%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#28,433	#26,873	5.49%
Count	790	904	14.43%
Proportion per 100k	0.29	0.31	6.9%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Petite

The Decennial U.S. Census data also gives us insight into the ethnicity distribution among individuals bearing the surname Petite. From 2000 to 2010, there were noticeable shifts in this distribution. The percentage of individuals associating with Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity and Hispanic ethnicity arose from zero to 1.11% and 2.99% respectively, while those identifying as Two or More Races slightly decreased from 3.29% to 2.99%. Individuals of White ethnic identity saw a small decrease, moving from 47.47% to 42.81%. The percentage of individuals with a Black ethnic identity rose slightly from 40.63% to 42.37%, and those of American Indian and Alaskan Native descent increased by 11.21%, moving from 6.96% in 2000 to 7.74% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	47.47%	42.81%	-9.82%
Black	40.63%	42.37%	4.28%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	6.96%	7.74%	11.21%
Two or More Races	3.29%	2.99%	-9.12%
Hispanic	0%	2.99%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.11%	0%