Lomax
An English given name derived from an Old English surname meaning "dweller at the bare hill."
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Lomax. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lomax today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lomax births was 1936 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lomax. 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 Lomax with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lomax is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lomax' were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lomax. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1936
11 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,322
Tracked since 1916
Census
Lomax in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Lomax, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lomax
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lomax is White at 49.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Lomax 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 Lomax at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.0% · 76
- Black or African American38.7% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 8
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
Popularity
Lomax: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lomax from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 62 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
Lomax 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 Lomax during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lomax' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lomax
The name Lomax has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is believed to be derived from the combination of two Old English words: "loma" meaning a remnant or a relic, and "aec" meaning oak. Thus, Lomax likely referred to an oak tree stump or a remnant of an oak tree.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lomax can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of lands and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in this important historical record, indicating its use as a surname or a place name during that time.
In the 12th century, a notable individual named Lomax was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of the Exchequer, which were financial records maintained by the English government. This suggests that the name was in use among the population during the Medieval period.
During the 16th century, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lomax as a given name can be found in the records of the Parish Church of St. Mary's in Eccles, Lancashire. A boy named Lomax was baptized there in 1587.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Lomax. One of the earliest was John Lomax, an English Puritan minister who lived from 1617 to 1692. He was a prominent figure during the English Civil War and served as a chaplain in the Parliamentarian army.
Another significant figure was John Avery Lomax, an American folklorist and historian who lived from 1867 to 1948. He is credited with preserving and promoting the folk music and traditions of the American South, particularly the cowboy songs of the western United States.
In the field of literature, the name Lomax is associated with Louis E. Lomax, an American journalist and author who lived from 1922 to 1970. He was known for his work on civil rights and his coverage of the African American experience in the United States.
John Lomax Jr., the son of the aforementioned John Avery Lomax, was also a prominent figure in the preservation of American folk music. He lived from 1915 to 1997 and worked alongside his father in collecting and recording traditional songs and ballads from various regions of the country.
Finally, Eric Lomax, a British army officer and author who lived from 1919 to 2012, gained recognition for his memoir "The Railway Man," which recounted his experiences as a prisoner of war during World War II and his eventual reconciliation with one of his captors.
People
Lomax + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lomax 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
Lomax: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lomax?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lomax 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Lomax a common name?
We classify Lomax as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 133 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lomax most popular?
The single biggest year for Lomax was 1936, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lomax is about 84 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lomax in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Lomax, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Lomax 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 Lomax?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lomax leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 9 female bearers (5.8%). 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 Lomax?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lomax is White at 49.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Lomax most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lomax in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.0% (76 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 Lomax in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lomax a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lomax 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 Lomax still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lomax 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 Lomax 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 Lomax?
You can see how many people have the name Lomax on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.