Lenox
A unisex name derived from the English town of Lenox, meaning "elm tree enclosure".
Name Census estimates that about 2,266 living Americans carry the first name Lenox. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Lenox today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lenox births was 2022 (205 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lenox. 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 Lenox with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Lenox is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 151,260 Americans
Peak year
2022
205 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,554
Tracked since 1912
Census
Lenox in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,523 people with the first name Lenox, which placed it at #9,222 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
#9,222
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,523 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenox
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenox is White at 41.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and Hispanic (14.1%). 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 Lenox 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 Lenox at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.2% · 628
- Black or African American32.4% · 494
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 215
- Two or more races9.1% · 139
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Lenox
Lenox leans heavily male at 80.6% of total registrations, but 473 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lenox as a male name
- Ranked #1,554 in 2024
- 112 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (172 births)
Lenox as a female name
- Ranked #6,517 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (54 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lenox on both sides of the split. Of the 1,516 people counted with this name, 1,168 were male (77.0%) and 348 were female (23.0%).
Popularity
Lenox: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lenox from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,121 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
Lenox 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 Lenox during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lenox' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. New York, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Lenox, while Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lenox
The name Lenox is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, specifically from the Scottish clan name Lennox. The clan name itself is derived from the phrase "leamhnachd," which means "elmy place" or "place of elms." This suggests that the name has its roots in the geographical region of Lennox in Scotland, known for its abundance of elm trees.
During the Middle Ages, the Lennox clan played a significant role in Scottish history, with their territories located in the region now known as Dunbartonshire. The earliest known record of the name appears in the 12th century, when Alwyn, Earl of Lennox, was mentioned in various historical documents.
In the 13th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Sir David de Lennox, a Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought alongside William Wallace during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. Sir David de Lennox's exploits and loyalty to the Scottish cause contributed to the name's association with courage and patriotism.
As the Lennox clan's influence grew, the name Lenox became more widespread, particularly among Scottish nobility and aristocracy. One notable figure was Esme Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox (1542-1583), a Scottish nobleman and cousin of King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England).
In the 16th century, the name crossed the Atlantic and gained popularity in the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances was Lenox Loddington (1569-1640), an English colonist who settled in Virginia and became a prominent landowner and leader in the colony.
Another famous bearer of the name was Lenox Dunmore (1672-1752), a British naval officer and colonial governor of Virginia and the Bahamas. His service in the British Navy and his role in colonial administration contributed to the name's association with leadership and exploration.
During the 19th century, the name Lenox gained literary significance with the American author and poet Lenox Redefern (1819-1891), whose works explored themes of nature and romanticism.
In the realm of sports, Lenox Greenidge (1873-1949) was a renowned English cricketer who played for the Sussex County Cricket Club and represented England in several international matches.
Throughout its history, the name Lenox has been associated with Scottish heritage, nobility, exploration, literature, and athleticism. Its origins can be traced back to the Gaelic language and the geographical region of Lennox in Scotland, where the name first gained prominence.
People
Lenox + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lenox 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
Lenox: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lenox?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,266 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lenox 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 151,260 US residents.
Is Lenox a common name?
We classify Lenox as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,434 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lenox most popular?
The single biggest year for Lenox was 2022, when 205 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lenox is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lenox in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,523 people with the name Lenox, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,222 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 Lenox 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 Lenox?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lenox on both sides of the split. Of the 1,516 people counted with this name, 1,168 were male (77.0%) and 348 were female (23.0%). 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 Lenox?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenox is White at 41.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and Hispanic (14.1%). 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 Lenox most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lenox in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.2% (628 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 Lenox in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lenox a male name?
Yes, 80.6% of people registered as Lenox 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 Lenox still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lenox 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 Lenox 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 Lenox?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.