Lonnel
A variant of the feminine name "Lionel", which means "young lion".
Name Census estimates that about 65 living Americans carry the first name Lonnel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lonnel today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lonnel births was 1978 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lonnel. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lonnel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
65
~ 1 in 5,273,144 Americans
Peak year
1978
7 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2004 SSA rank
#12,476
Tracked since 1960
Census
Lonnel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 140 people with the first name Lonnel, which placed it at #47,034 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
#47,034
National first-name rank
People counted
140
140 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lonnel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lonnel is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Lonnel 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 Lonnel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.1% · 115
- White12.1% · 17
- Two or more races2.9% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Lonnel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lonnel from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 25 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lonnel 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 Lonnel 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 Lonnel
The name Lonnel is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic language, where it was derived from the root word "lon," meaning "blackbird." This etymology suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone with dark hair or a dark complexion, akin to the distinctive plumage of a blackbird.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lonnel can be found in ancient Irish and Welsh texts, where it was often used as a personal name or a surname. In these early Celtic societies, names were deeply rooted in nature and the surrounding environment, reflecting the close connection that these civilizations had with the natural world.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Lonnel was a 6th-century Irish monk and scholar, Lonnel of Armagh. He was renowned for his contributions to the spread of Christianity throughout Ireland and his writings on various religious and philosophical topics.
In the 11th century, the name Lonnel gained prominence in Normandy, a region of France with strong Celtic influences. During this time, Lonnel de Reviers, a Norman nobleman, was a prominent figure in the court of William the Conqueror and played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
The name Lonnel also appeared in several medieval English records and chronicles, such as the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and resources commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. One notable entry mentions a landowner named Lonnel de Huddleston, who held extensive estates in Yorkshire.
In the 16th century, Lonnel Bardsley, an English poet and playwright, gained recognition for his works that often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. His poems were widely published and celebrated during the Elizabethan era.
Another figure of historical significance was Lonnel Cromwell, a distant relative of Oliver Cromwell, the famous English military and political leader of the 17th century. Lonnel Cromwell served as a captain in the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and was known for his bravery and loyalty to the cause.
As the centuries passed, the name Lonnel continued to be used, albeit less frequently, in various parts of Europe and beyond. While its popularity may have waned over time, its unique history and ties to ancient Celtic traditions have endured, making it a name that carries a rich cultural heritage.
People
Lonnel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lonnel 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
Lonnel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lonnel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lonnel 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 5,273,144 US residents.
Is Lonnel a common name?
We classify Lonnel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lonnel most popular?
The single biggest year for Lonnel was 1978, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lonnel is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lonnel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 140 people with the name Lonnel, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,034 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 Lonnel 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 Lonnel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lonnel leans strongly male. 130 people counted with this name were male (92.9%), compared with 10 female bearers (7.1%). 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 Lonnel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lonnel is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Lonnel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lonnel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (115 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 Lonnel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lonnel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lonnel 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 Lonnel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lonnel 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 Lonnel 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 named Lonnel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.