The Poulain surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 135 people carried this name — #126,765 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,000,000 people counted. That is up 34% from 101 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Poulain surname
Inherited from Old French Polain, from Latin Pullānus.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Poulain» (French), 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 9,987 people named Poulain.
106 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 96 départements, most often Nord.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 378 people named Poulain live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
48 people named Poulain live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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 Poulain,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jean-François-Pierre Poulain de Corbion 1743–1799 · politician -
Jean-Baptiste Celestin Poulain De Boutancourt 1758–1802 · politician -
Prosper-Auguste Poulain de Bossay 1798–1876 · history teacher -
Jean-Baptiste-Joseph-René Poulain d. 1805 · military personnel
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Robert Poulain d. 1221 · archbishop
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Gilles I, Lord of Cayphas 1250–1270
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Poulain.
- Potvin 2,503 · U.S. census
- Pou 1,189 · U.S. census
- Pouch 266 · U.S. census
- Pouder 103 · U.S. census
- Pouge 123 · U.S. census
- Pouget 125 · U.S. census
- Poulard 263 · U.S. census
- Poulin 6,892 · U.S. census
- Poullard 663 · U.S. census
- Poupard 399 · U.S. census
- Poupart 355 · U.S. census
- Pourchot 184 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Poulain 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.