Lonnell
A variant spelling of the English name Lonnel, derived from the Middle English "Loynard".
Name Census estimates that about 991 living Americans carry the first name Lonnell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lonnell today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lonnell births was 1970 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lonnell. 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
991
~ 1 in 345,867 Americans
Peak year
1970
33 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,432
Tracked since 1927
Census
Lonnell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 726 people with the first name Lonnell, which placed it at #15,745 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
#15,745
National first-name rank
People counted
726
726 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lonnell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lonnell is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Lonnell 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 Lonnell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.6% · 629
- White7.2% · 52
- Two or more races3.4% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Lonnell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lonnell from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 227 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
Lonnell 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 Lonnell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lonnells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Lonnell, while District of Columbia, Missouri, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lonnell
The name Lonnell is a diminutive form of the French name Lionel, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Leonhard. The name Leonhard is composed of two elements: "leon" meaning "lion" and "hart" meaning "brave" or "hardy". Thus, the name Lonnell ultimately stems from the idea of a brave and courageous lion.
The origins of the name Lonnell can be traced back to the medieval period, when it was used as a variant of Lionel in parts of France and England. Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 13th century, though it was not as widely used as the more common form, Lionel.
In terms of historical references, the name Lonnell does not appear to have been prominently featured in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it was used by a few notable individuals throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lonnell was Lonnell de Villiers, a French nobleman who lived in the 14th century. He was known for his military service during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Another individual of note was Lonnell Clarkson, an English poet and playwright who lived during the 16th century. He is best known for his collection of sonnets and his plays that were performed in London's theaters.
In the 17th century, there was Lonnell Browne, an English explorer and navigator who made several voyages to the West Indies and the Caribbean. He documented his travels in a book titled "A Relation of the Voyage to the West Indies".
Moving forward to the 18th century, Lonnell Drummond was a Scottish philosopher and educator who wrote extensively on topics of ethics and moral philosophy. He was also a professor at the University of Edinburgh.
Finally, in the 19th century, Lonnell Everett was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He was known for his advocacy of abolition and civil rights.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Lonnell. While not as common as some other names, it has maintained a presence over the centuries, with its origins rooted in the concept of bravery and strength associated with the lion.
People
Lonnell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lonnell 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
Lonnell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lonnell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 991 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lonnell 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 345,867 US residents.
Is Lonnell a common name?
We classify Lonnell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lonnell most popular?
The single biggest year for Lonnell was 1970, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lonnell is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lonnell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 726 people with the name Lonnell, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,745 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 Lonnell 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 Lonnell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lonnell leans strongly male. 675 people counted with this name were male (92.6%), compared with 54 female bearers (7.4%). 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 Lonnell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lonnell is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Lonnell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lonnell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (629 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 Lonnell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lonnell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lonnell 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 Lonnell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lonnell 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 Lonnell 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 Americans are named Lonnell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.