Lemaj
A name of Native American origin meaning "bright star" or "shining star".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Lemaj. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lemaj today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lemaj births was 2007 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lemaj. 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 Lemaj. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2007
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,787
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Lemaj: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Lemaj 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 Lemaj 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 Lemaj
The name Lemaj finds its origins in ancient Sumerian culture, one of the earliest civilizations known to have existed in Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian words "le" meaning "to grow" and "maj" meaning "life force" or "spirit." Together, the name Lemaj translates to "one who nurtures growth and vitality."
In early Sumerian mythology, Lemaj was believed to be the name of a minor deity associated with the fertility of crops and the renewal of the land after the annual flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. References to this deity can be found in cuneiform inscriptions on clay tablets dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lemaj was found on a clay cylinder seal from the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, dating back to around 2500 BCE. The seal belonged to a high-ranking official or priest named Lemaj, suggesting the name held significance in the Sumerian culture at the time.
Throughout ancient history, the name Lemaj appeared in various forms and spellings across different regions and cultures that had been influenced by Sumerian civilization. In the 8th century BCE, a prominent Assyrian scholar and scribe named Lemaj was renowned for his work in preserving and translating ancient Sumerian texts.
During the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which ruled from 550 BCE to 330 BCE, there was a notable military commander named Lemaj who played a crucial role in several campaigns under King Darius I. His exploits were recorded in the Behistun Inscription, a famous multilingual inscription carved into a rock face in modern-day Iran.
In the 2nd century CE, a Greek philosopher and mathematician named Lemaj from Alexandria made significant contributions to the field of geometry and wrote treatises on the works of Euclid. His writings were widely studied and influenced the development of mathematics in the ancient world.
Another historical figure bearing the name Lemaj was a 7th-century Arab poet from the city of Medina. Known for his eloquent verses and mastery of the Arabic language, his works were preserved and celebrated by scholars and literary enthusiasts throughout the medieval Islamic world.
People
Lemaj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lemaj 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
Lemaj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lemaj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lemaj 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 Lemaj a common name?
We classify Lemaj 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 Lemaj most popular?
The single biggest year for Lemaj was 2007, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lemaj is about 19 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 Lemaj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lemaj a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lemaj 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 Lemaj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lemaj 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 Lemaj 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 Americans are named Lemaj?
See how many Americans are named Lemaj on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.