Lenis
A Latin name meaning "smooth" or "calm".
Name Census estimates that about 79 living Americans carry the first name Lenis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Lenis today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lenis births was 1934 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lenis. 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 Lenis is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lenis' were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lenis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
79
~ 1 in 4,338,663 Americans
Peak year
1934
16 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1972 SSA rank
#4,750
Tracked since 1917
Census
Lenis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 566 people with the first name Lenis, which placed it at #18,900 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
#18,900
National first-name rank
People counted
566
566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
59.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenis is Hispanic at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (29.2%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Lenis 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 Lenis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.4% · 336
- White29.2% · 165
- Black or African American8.1% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 13
- Two or more races0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Lenis
Lenis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 225 total registrations, 170 (75.6%) were male and 55 (24.4%) were female.
Lenis as a male name
- Ranked #4,750 in 1972
- 6 male births in 1972
- Peak: 1922 (9 births)
Lenis as a female name
- Ranked #11,234 in 2004
- 9 female births in 2004
- Peak: 2004 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lenis on both sides of the split. Of the 563 people counted with this name, 218 were male (38.7%) and 345 were female (61.3%).
Popularity
Lenis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lenis from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 72 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lenis 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 Lenis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lenis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lenis
The name Lenis has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "lenis" which means "gentle" or "mild." It was a name commonly used during the Roman era, particularly in the latter part of the empire's reign.
Lenis was a name often given to children in the hope that they would grow up to possess a calm and mild-mannered temperament. It was thought to bestow blessings of peace and tranquility upon the bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lenis can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a Roman soldier by that name in his work "Annals." This suggests that the name was in use as early as the 1st century AD.
In the 4th century AD, there was a notable figure named Lenis who served as a bishop in the city of Trier, in what is now modern-day Germany. His tenure as a religious leader is recorded in several historical texts from that period.
During the Middle Ages, the name Lenis experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in certain regions of Europe. One of the most famous bearers of the name from this era was Lenis of Parma, an Italian scholar and philosopher who lived in the 12th century. He was renowned for his contributions to the field of logic and is mentioned in several academic texts from that time.
In the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Lenis emerged in the world of art. Lenis Cornelisz, a Dutch painter born in 1516, was known for his intricate portraits and religious scenes. His work can still be found in various museums and galleries across Europe.
Another prominent individual with the name Lenis was Lenis Zernov, a Russian historian and author who lived from 1892 to 1971. He is best known for his comprehensive works on the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Russian religious tradition.
While the name Lenis has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a unique and historically significant name with deep roots in various cultures and time periods.
People
Lenis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lenis 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
Lenis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lenis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 79 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lenis 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 4,338,663 US residents.
Is Lenis a common name?
We classify Lenis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lenis most popular?
The single biggest year for Lenis was 1934, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lenis is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lenis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 566 people with the name Lenis, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,900 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 Lenis 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 Lenis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lenis on both sides of the split. Of the 563 people counted with this name, 218 were male (38.7%) and 345 were female (61.3%). 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 Lenis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenis is Hispanic at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (29.2%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Lenis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Lenis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (336 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 Lenis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lenis a male name?
Yes, 75.6% of people registered as Lenis 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 Lenis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lenis 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 Lenis 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 many people are called Lenis?
You can see how many Americans are named Lenis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.