Lennox
An anglicized Scottish Gaelic name meaning "elm grove".
Name Census estimates that about 17,998 living Americans carry the first name Lennox. It sits at #263 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Lennox today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lennox births was 2022 (1,914 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lennox. 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
- • Lennox is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 19,044 Americans
Peak year
2022
1,914 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#263
Tracked since 1918
Gender
Gender distribution for Lennox
Lennox is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 18,172 total registrations, 13,160 (72.4%) were male and 5,012 (27.6%) were female.
Lennox as a male name
- Ranked #263 in 2024
- 1,320 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (1,426 births)
Lennox as a female name
- Ranked #688 in 2024
- 412 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (496 births)
Popularity
Lennox: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lennox from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 8,964 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
Lennox 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 Lennox during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lennox' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Lennox, while Montana, Alaska, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 332 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lennox
The name Lennox has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language. It is believed to have derived from the combination of the elements "lenn" meaning "elm" or "elm wood" and the suffix "-ocs" or "-ox," which refers to a place or territory. This suggests that the name Lennox was initially used as a locational surname, referring to a person or family from a place associated with elm trees or elm woods.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lennox can be traced back to the 12th century in Scotland. It was initially used as a territorial designation for the region of Lennox, which was located in the central part of Scotland, near the present-day city of Glasgow. The Lennox area was ruled by a powerful Scottish family known as the Earls of Lennox, who played a significant role in Scottish history during the medieval period.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Lennox was Duncan, Earl of Lennox (c. 1516-1581). He was a prominent Scottish nobleman who supported Mary, Queen of Scots, during the Scottish Reformation and the conflicts between Scotland and England. Another important figure was Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox (1542-1583), a French nobleman who became a favorite of King James VI of Scotland and played a crucial role in the political affairs of the time.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Lennox gained popularity among the aristocracy and gentry in Scotland and England. One example is James Lennox (1533-1578), a Scottish nobleman and soldier who served as the Lord Regent of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. Additionally, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672-1723), was a prominent English nobleman and military leader who served as the Governor-General of British North America.
The name Lennox also found its way into literature and the arts. Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish novelist and poet, featured the character of Ludovic Lennox, Earl of Lennox, in his 1818 novel "Rob Roy." This further popularized the name in the 19th century.
Throughout its history, the name Lennox has been associated with Scottish heritage, nobility, and a connection to the ancient territory of Lennox. While its usage may have waxed and waned over time, it remains a distinctive name with a rich historical background rooted in the Scottish Gaelic language and culture.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lennox
People
Lennox + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lennox 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
Lennox: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lennox?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,998 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lennox 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 19,044 US residents.
Is Lennox a common name?
We classify Lennox as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18,172 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lennox most popular?
The single biggest year for Lennox was 2022, when 1,914 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lennox is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lennox a male name?
Yes, 72.4% of people registered as Lennox 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.