The Foucault surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 400 people carried this name — #51,941 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 714,300 people counted. That is up 18% from 340 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Foucault surname
A surname in French.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Foucault» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 3,816 people named Foucault.
15 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 80 départements, most often Sarthe.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 28 people named Foucault live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
26 people named Foucault live in Switzerland.
They live in 2 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Foucault,
with a public archive behind them.
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Nicolas-Joseph Foucault 1643–1721 · administrator -
Saint-Prix 1758–1834 · stage actor -
Saint-Prix 1759–1834 · stage actor
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Louis de Foucault de Saint-Germain-Beaupré 1616–1659 · military personnel
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Damien Foucault 1627–1676 · printer
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Henri Foucault 1650–1719 · music publisher
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Foucault.
- Fosse 739 · U.S. census
- Fossey 282 · U.S. census
- Fossier 157 · U.S. census
- Foster 227,764 · U.S. census
- Foti 2,690 · U.S. census
- Foubert 172 · U.S. census
- Fouche 1,147 · U.S. census
- Foucher 412 · U.S. census
- Fougere 521 · U.S. census
- Fougerousse 291 · U.S. census
- Foulon 125 · U.S. census
- Fouquet 325 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Foucault is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.