Lank
Diminutive of the name Lancelot, taken from the French name meaning "servant".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Lank. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lank today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lank births was 1926 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lank. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lank is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lanks were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lank. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1926
5 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1960 SSA rank
#4,354
Tracked since 1926
Popularity
Lank: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lank from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lank 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 Lank during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lank
The name Lank is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, specifically the Old Norse and Old English dialects spoken in Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic root word "langaz," which means "long" or "tall."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lank can be found in the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript that details the settlement of Iceland by Norse settlers in the 9th and 10th centuries. The name appears as "Langr," which was a common nickname or byname given to individuals of exceptional height or stature.
In Anglo-Saxon England, the name Lank was sometimes used as a shortened form of the Old English name "Langbeorht," which translates to "long-bright" or "tall and radiant." This name was borne by several notable figures in the region, including Langbeorht of Glastonbury, a monk and scholar who lived in the 7th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Lank remained prevalent in various parts of northern Europe, particularly in Germanic and Scandinavian regions. One notable bearer of the name was Lank the Tall, a Viking warrior and explorer who is said to have accompanied Leif Erikson on his voyage to North America around the year 1000 CE.
In the 13th century, a German nobleman named Lank von Rosenberg was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire. He served as a military commander and diplomat during the reign of Emperor Frederick II.
Another historical figure with the name Lank was Lank Neilson, a Danish sea captain and explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the late 16th century. He is credited with mapping parts of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
While the name Lank has fallen out of common usage in many parts of the world, it has maintained a presence in certain regions, particularly in parts of Scandinavia and Germany, where it is still occasionally bestowed as a first name or surname.
People
Lank + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lank 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
Lank: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lank?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lank 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Lank a common name?
We classify Lank as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lank most popular?
The single biggest year for Lank was 1926, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lank is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Lank in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lank a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lank in the SSA data are male. 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 Lank still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lank 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 Lank 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Lank as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.