Lennette
A feminine variant of the name Lenore, potentially derived from Latin meaning "light".
Name Census estimates that about 274 living Americans carry the first name Lennette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lennette today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lennette births was 1963 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lennette. 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.
People living today
274
~ 1 in 1,250,928 Americans
Peak year
1963
16 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1995 SSA rank
#14,753
Tracked since 1925
Census
Lennette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 357 people with the first name Lennette, which placed it at #26,204 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
#26,204
National first-name rank
People counted
357
357 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lennette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lennette is Black at 41.2%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Hispanic (16.8%). 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 Lennette 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 Lennette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.2% · 147
- White30.3% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino16.8% · 60
- Two or more races5.3% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 9
Popularity
Lennette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lennette from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lennette 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 Lennette 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 Lennette
The name Lennette is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the Old French word "leonet," which means "little lion." It is a diminutive form of the name Léon, which traces its roots back to the Latin name Leo, meaning "lion."
In ancient times, the lion was a symbol of strength, courage, and royalty. The name Leo was borne by several Roman Emperors, including Leo I, also known as Leo the Great, who reigned from 440 to 461 AD. He is remembered for his efforts in upholding the doctrine of the Incarnation against the Monophysite heresy.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Lennette can be found in the 12th century, during the High Middle Ages. It was particularly popular among the French nobility and upper classes, likely due to its association with the regal symbolism of the lion.
One notable historical figure with the name Lennette was Lennette de Sainte-Marie (c. 1290-1368), a French nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was renowned for her visions and spiritual writings, which influenced the religious thought of her time.
Another important figure was Lennette de Ballon (c. 1360-1430), a French noblewoman and military leader during the Hundred Years' War. She played a crucial role in the defense of the city of Orléans against the English, earning her the moniker "The Maid of Orléans" before the more famous Joan of Arc.
In the 16th century, Lennette de Bourbon (1516-1572) was a prominent figure in the French Renaissance. She was a patron of the arts and a supporter of the Protestant Reformation, known for her influential salon and her connections with many of the era's leading intellectuals and artists.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Lennette de Laval (1702-1786) was a French aristocrat and philanthropist. She founded several charitable institutions and schools for underprivileged children, earning her a reputation for her compassion and commitment to social welfare.
Finally, in the 19th century, Lennette Durand (1820-1892) was a French painter and sculptor. She was one of the few women of her time to achieve recognition in the traditionally male-dominated art world, known for her portraits and allegorical works that often depicted strong female figures.
People
Lennette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lennette 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
Lennette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lennette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 274 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lennette 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 1,250,928 US residents.
Is Lennette a common name?
We classify Lennette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 356 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lennette most popular?
The single biggest year for Lennette was 1963, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lennette is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lennette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 357 people with the name Lennette, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,204 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 Lennette 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 Lennette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lennette leans strongly female. 351 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Lennette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lennette is Black at 41.2%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Hispanic (16.8%). 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 Lennette most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lennette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.2% (147 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 Lennette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lennette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lennette in the SSA data are female. 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 Lennette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lennette 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 Lennette 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 have the name Lennette?
Find out how many Americans are named Lennette on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.