The Rousseau surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,270 people carried this name — #4,297 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 35,700 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,854 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Rousseau surname
Originally a French nickname for someone with red hair, from roux (“redhead”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rousseau» (English), 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 28,591 people named Rousseau.
313 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 103 départements, most often Paris.
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 3,315 people named Rousseau 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
242 people named Rousseau live in Switzerland.
They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 201 people named Rousseau 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
30 people named Rousseau have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 69 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
24 people named Rousseau is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Rousseau in American newspapers,
1862–1936.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 64,233 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rousseau,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jacques Rousseau 1630–1693 · painter -
Jean VIII César Rousseau de La Parisière 1667–1736 · Catholic priest -
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau 1670–1741 · writer -
Isaac Rousseau 1672–1747 · watchmaker
-
Antoine Rousseau 1678–1749 · wholesaler
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 216 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rousseau.
- Roulier 227 · U.S. census
- Roullier 144 · U.S. census
- Roura 301 · U.S. census
- Rous 319 · U.S. census
- Rouse 26,519 · U.S. census
- Rousse 626 · U.S. census
- Roussel 2,777 · U.S. census
- Rousselle 623 · U.S. census
- Rousset 231 · U.S. census
- Roussey 285 · U.S. census
- Roussin 627 · U.S. census
- Rousso 360 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rousseau 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.