Lasse
An Old Norse masculine name meaning "wanderer" or "pathfinder".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Lasse. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lasse today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lasse births was 2006 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lasse. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lasse. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2006
6 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,470
Tracked since 2006
Census
Lasse in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 147 people with the first name Lasse, which placed it at #45,869 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
#45,869
National first-name rank
People counted
147
147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
92.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lasse
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lasse is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lasse 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 Lasse at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 136
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 4
- Two or more races2.7% · 4
- Black or African American1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Lasse: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Lasse 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 Lasse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Lasse
The name Lasse originated from the Scandinavian regions, particularly in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It is a shortened form of the Old Norse name Laurentius, which was derived from the Latin name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" or "laurel plant." The name has been in use since the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lasse can be traced back to the 13th century in Sweden. It was a common name among the rural population and was often associated with farmers and peasants. The name gained popularity across Scandinavia during the Renaissance period.
In ancient Norse mythology, Lasse was sometimes used as a nickname for the god Loki, known for his cunning and trickery. However, there is no direct historical evidence linking the name Lasse to this mythological figure.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Lasse was Lasse Pedersson (1526-1594), a Swedish clergyman and author who translated the Bible into the Swedish language. Another prominent figure was Lasse Lucidor (1638-1674), a Swedish poet and playwright who was a prominent figure in the Swedish literary scene of the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Lasse Maja Carlsson (1801-1888) was a Swedish folk artist and painter known for her naïve style and depictions of rural life in Sweden. Lasse Viren (born 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner who won four Olympic gold medals and is considered one of the greatest distance runners of all time.
Lasse Hallström (born 1946) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter best known for his works such as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Cider House Rules," and "Chocolat." He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has had a significant impact on the international film industry.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Lasse, showcasing its prevalence in Scandinavian culture and its use across various fields, including religion, literature, art, sports, and cinema.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lasse
People
Lasse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lasse 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
Lasse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lasse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lasse 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Lasse a common name?
We classify Lasse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lasse most popular?
The single biggest year for Lasse was 2006, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lasse is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lasse in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 147 people with the name Lasse, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,869 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 Lasse 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 Lasse?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lasse leans strongly male. 144 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Lasse?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lasse is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lasse most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lasse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (136 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 Lasse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lasse a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lasse 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 Lasse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lasse 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 Lasse 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 common is the name Lasse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.