The Roussel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,777 people carried this name — #11,362 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 106,400 people counted. That is up 8% from 2,577 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Roussel surname
From Old French rous (“red-haired”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Roussel» (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 22,794 people named Roussel.
307 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 105 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
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 492 people named Roussel 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
127 people named Roussel live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 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.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 36 people named Roussel 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 print
Roussel in American newspapers,
1869–1918.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,159 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Roussel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jean Roussel 1250–1339 · Catholic priest -
Raoul Roussel 1389–1453 · Catholic priest -
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Roussel 1734– · politician -
Armand 1773–1852 · stage actor -
Napoléon Roussel 1805–1878 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 179 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Roussel.
- 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
- Rousseau 8,270 · 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
- Routhier 1,165 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Roussel 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.