Lemmy
A diminutive form of the masculine name Leminil, derived from Germanic elements meaning "shield" and "protection".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Lemmy. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Lemmy today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lemmy births was 2022 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lemmy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lemmy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2022
16 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,063
Tracked since 2011
Gender
Gender distribution for Lemmy
Lemmy is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 124 total registrations, 98 (79.0%) were male and 26 (21.0%) were female.
Lemmy as a male name
- Ranked #7,063 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (15 births)
Lemmy as a female name
- Ranked #12,879 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2020 (8 births)
Popularity
Lemmy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lemmy from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 64 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
Lemmy 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 Lemmy 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 Lemmy
The given name Lemmy is believed to have originated from the Old English language, derived from the word "lem," which means "to burn" or "shining." It was commonly used during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, spanning from the 5th to the 11th centuries.
The name Lemmy can be traced back to ancient Germanic roots, where it was often associated with strength, resilience, and a fiery spirit. It was particularly popular among Anglo-Saxon warriors and nobles who believed the name embodied these qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lemmy appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in Anglo-Saxon England. The chronicle mentions a nobleman named Lemmy, who fought alongside King Alfred the Great against the Viking invaders in the 9th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Lemmy. One of the most famous was Lemmy Kilmister (1945-2015), the legendary frontman of the British rock band Motörhead. Renowned for his gravelly voice and hard-rocking persona, Lemmy was a prominent figure in the heavy metal music scene.
Another historical figure with the name Lemmy was Lemmy Winks (1898-1971), a British racing driver and entrepreneur who competed in early Grand Prix events and founded the Winks Fairground Company.
In the realm of literature, Lemmy Caution was the name of a fictional secret agent created by British author Peter Cheyney in the 1930s. The Lemmy Caution novels and films gained popularity for their thrilling espionage stories.
During the Middle Ages, Lemmy was also a common name among monks and clergymen. One such notable figure was Lemmy of Canterbury (c. 1050-1120), an English monk and scholar who served as the prior of Christ Church Canterbury.
While the name Lemmy has waxed and waned in popularity over the centuries, it continues to evoke a sense of strength, resilience, and a spirited nature, carrying with it the echoes of its ancient Anglo-Saxon roots.
People
Lemmy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lemmy 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
Lemmy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lemmy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lemmy 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 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Lemmy a common name?
We classify Lemmy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lemmy most popular?
The single biggest year for Lemmy was 2022, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lemmy is about 7 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 Lemmy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lemmy a male name?
Yes, 79.0% of people registered as Lemmy 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 Lemmy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lemmy 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 Lemmy 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 the name Lemmy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.