Lakin
Of uncertain origin but perhaps meaning "one who is brave".
Name Census estimates that about 2,286 living Americans carry the first name Lakin. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Lakin today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakin births was 1996 (101 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 149,936 Americans
Peak year
1996
101 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,043
Tracked since 1985
Census
Lakin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,979 people with the first name Lakin, which placed it at #7,639 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,639
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,979 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakin is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lakin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lakin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 1,695
- Black or African American5.1% · 101
- Two or more races5.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Lakin
Lakin leans heavily female at 81.3% of total registrations, but 438 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lakin as a male name
- Ranked #10,451 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (25 births)
Lakin as a female name
- Ranked #6,043 in 2024
- 20 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (94 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakin leans strongly female. 1,587 people counted with this name were female (80.1%), compared with 394 male bearers (19.9%).
Popularity
Lakin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakin from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 836 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lakin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lakins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Kentucky, Kansas, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Lakin, while North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lakin
The name Lakin is believed to have its origins in the Celtic languages of ancient Britain and Ireland. It is thought to be derived from the Welsh word "llachin," which means "small lake" or "pool." This suggests that the name may have been given to people who lived near small bodies of water or in areas with many lakes.
In its earliest form, the name was likely spelled "Lachyn" or something similar, as the spelling and pronunciation of names were not standardized in those times. As the name spread and evolved, it took on various spellings, including "Lackin," "Laken," and eventually "Lakin."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lakin can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Lachinus," and it is recorded as the name of a landowner in the county of Gloucestershire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Lakin remained relatively uncommon but could be found scattered across various regions of Britain and Ireland. One notable bearer of the name was Lakin de Knoville, a 13th-century English nobleman and landowner who held properties in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Lakin Fitzpatrick was a member of the Irish gentry and a supporter of the English crown during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. He played a role in the plantation of English and Scottish settlers in Ireland, which had a significant impact on the island's history and demographics.
Another noteworthy person with the name Lakin was Lakin Turner, an English Puritan minister and writer who lived in the 17th century. He authored several religious works and was a prominent figure in the Puritan movement, which had a significant influence on the development of English society and the eventual establishment of the American colonies.
In the 19th century, Lakin Jeffries was a British artist and engraver known for his detailed etchings and illustrations. His work appeared in various publications and books, and he was recognized for his skill and attention to detail.
While the name Lakin has never been exceptionally widespread, it has persisted throughout history, particularly in Britain and Ireland, where it has its roots. The name's association with bodies of water and its Celtic origins have given it a unique and enduring connection to the cultural heritage of these regions.
People
Lakin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,286 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 149,936 US residents.
Is Lakin a common name?
We classify Lakin as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakin most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakin was 1996, when 101 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakin is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,979 people with the name Lakin, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,639 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lakin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lakin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakin leans strongly female. 1,587 people counted with this name were female (80.1%), compared with 394 male bearers (19.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lakin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakin is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lakin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lakin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (1,695 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lakin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakin a female name?
Yes, 81.3% of people registered as Lakin in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lakin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lakin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Lakin?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Lakin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.