Lovelace
From the Old English ælflacu, literally meaning "meadow enclosure".
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Lovelace. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lovelace today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lovelace births was 1927 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lovelace. 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
- • The typical person named Lovelace is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lovelaces were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lovelace. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
1927
12 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1961 SSA rank
#3,895
Tracked since 1914
Census
Lovelace in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Lovelace, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lovelace
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lovelace is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (33.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Lovelace 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 Lovelace at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.3% · 86
- White33.8% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Lovelace: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lovelace from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lovelace 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 Lovelace during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lovelaces live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lovelace
The name Lovelace is an English surname that has been used as a given name since the 19th century. It is derived from the Old English words "luf" meaning love and "lacu" meaning stream or brook. The name likely originated as a place name referring to a stream or brook that was considered lovely or beloved.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lovelace as a surname dates back to the 13th century in England. However, its usage as a given name did not become common until the 19th century, likely influenced by the fame of Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is considered a pioneering figure in computer programming for her work on the Analytical Engine, a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by Charles Babbage.
Another notable individual with the name Lovelace was Richard Lovelace (1617-1657), an English poet and nobleman who served as a cavalier during the English Civil War. He is best known for his poetry collection "Lucasta" and his poem "To Althea, from Prison," written while he was imprisoned for his support of the royalist cause.
In the 20th century, Lovelace gained some popularity as a given name, particularly in the United States. One notable bearer of the name was Lovelace Watkins (1900-1967), an American singer and actress who performed on Broadway and in several films.
Another individual with the name Lovelace was Linda Lovelace (1949-2002), an American pornographic actress who starred in the 1972 film "Deep Throat." Although her given name was Linda Susan Boreman, she became known by her stage name Lovelace.
While less common today, the name Lovelace has been used by various individuals throughout history, often associated with artistic or literary pursuits, reflecting its romantic and poetic origins.
People
Lovelace + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lovelace 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
Lovelace: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lovelace?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lovelace 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Lovelace a common name?
We classify Lovelace as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lovelace most popular?
The single biggest year for Lovelace was 1927, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lovelace is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lovelace in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Lovelace, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Lovelace 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 Lovelace?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lovelace on both sides of the split. Of the 150 people counted with this name, 95 were male (63.3%) and 55 were female (36.7%). 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 Lovelace?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lovelace is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (33.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Lovelace most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lovelace in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (86 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 Lovelace in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lovelace a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lovelace 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 Lovelace still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lovelace 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 Lovelace 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 have Lovelace as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Lovelace on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.