Lem
A diminutive of Lemuel, meaning "devoted to God".
Name Census estimates that about 233 living Americans carry the first name Lem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lem today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lem births was 1917 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lem. 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 Lem is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lems were born before 1958.
People living today
233
~ 1 in 1,471,049 Americans
Peak year
1917
39 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1983 SSA rank
#5,930
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Lem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lem from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 239 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lem 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 Lem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Mississippi, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Lem, while North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lem
The given name Lem has its origins in the Polish language, where it is a diminutive form of the more common name Leszek. The name Leszek is derived from the Old Polish word "lесha," which means "forest dweller" or "inhabitant of the forest." This suggests that the name Lem may have connections to nature and woodlands in its early use.
Historically, the name Lem can be traced back to the 11th century in Poland, where it was used as a personal name among the nobility and ruling classes. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lem can be found in the 12th-century Polish chronicle "Gesta Principum Polonorum" (Deeds of the Princes of Poland), which mentions a nobleman named Lem who was a courtier in the court of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth.
In the 14th century, a Polish knight named Lem of Radzyn is mentioned in historical records as a participant in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, which was a major victory for the Polish-Lithuanian forces against the Teutonic Knights. This suggests that the name Lem was associated with military prowess and valor during this period.
During the Renaissance period, a Polish scholar and mathematician named Lem Mikulski (born around 1490) gained prominence for his work on trigonometry and his contributions to the development of mathematics in Poland. This demonstrates the intellectual and academic associations of the name Lem during this time.
In more recent history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lem, including:
1. Stanisław Lem (1921-2006), a renowned Polish science fiction writer and philosopher, widely considered one of the most influential authors in the genre.
2. Lem Billings (1780-1847), an American politician and lawyer who served as the 7th Governor of Vermont.
3. Lem Jones (1904-1976), an American baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1920s.
4. Lem Irons (1924-2003), an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the National Wrestling Alliance and World Wide Wrestling Federation.
5. Lem Banker (1927-2002), an American football player and coach who played in the National Football League and later coached at various colleges.
While the name Lem may have originated as a diminutive form of a Polish name with connections to nature and woodlands, it has since been adopted and used across various cultures and contexts, often associated with intellectual pursuits, athletics, and public service.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lem
People
Lem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lem 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
Lem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 233 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lem 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 1,471,049 US residents.
Is Lem a common name?
We classify Lem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lem most popular?
The single biggest year for Lem was 1917, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lem is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lem 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.
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.