Luellen
A feminine name derived from the French "lu" meaning "light" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 260 living Americans carry the first name Luellen. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Luellen today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Luellen births was 1948 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Luellen. 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 Luellen is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Luellens were born before 1963.
People living today
260
~ 1 in 1,318,286 Americans
Peak year
1948
24 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1913 SSA rank
#3,090
Tracked since 1900
Census
Luellen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 439 people with the first name Luellen, which placed it at #22,609 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
#22,609
National first-name rank
People counted
439
439 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luellen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luellen is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.1%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Luellen 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 Luellen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 356
- Black or African American14.1% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 10
- Two or more races1.6% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Luellen
Out of the 695 babies given the name Luellen since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Luellen as a male name
- Ranked #3,090 in 1913
- 5 male births in 1913
- Peak: 1913 (5 births)
Luellen as a female name
- Ranked #9,040 in 1972
- 5 female births in 1972
- Peak: 1948 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Luellen leans strongly female. 423 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 20 male bearers (4.5%).
Popularity
Luellen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Luellen from the 1900s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 144 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Luellen 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 Luellen 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 Luellen
The name Luellen originated from the Welsh language and culture, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is a feminine form of the male name Llewellyn, derived from the Welsh words "llu" meaning "host" or "army," and "llen" meaning "leader" or "prince." This suggests that the name Luellen may have been associated with strong leadership qualities or military prowess in ancient Welsh society.
The earliest recorded use of the name Luellen can be found in historical records from Wales, dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. During this time, Wales was a region of constant conflict and power struggles, and names like Luellen may have held particular significance for those born into noble or warrior families.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Luellen was Lady Luellen Goch, a Welsh noblewoman who lived in the late 13th century. She was renowned for her fierce loyalty to her family and her unwavering defense of her lands during a period of political turmoil in Wales.
In the 15th century, Luellen ferch Gruffydd was a prominent figure in Welsh history. She was the daughter of Gruffydd ap Nicolas, a powerful Welsh nobleman, and played a crucial role in negotiating alliances and maintaining stability in her region during the Wars of the Roses.
During the 16th century, Luellen Llwyd was a celebrated Welsh poet and bard. Her works were highly regarded for their lyrical beauty and their ability to capture the essence of Welsh culture and tradition.
In the 18th century, Luellen Jones was a notable Welsh educator and advocate for women's education. She established several schools in her community and worked tirelessly to provide educational opportunities for girls and young women, which was a rare endeavor at the time.
Another notable figure with the name Luellen was Luellen Gwendoline Griffith, a Welsh artist and illustrator who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her intricate drawings and etchings depicted scenes from Welsh folklore and mythology, helping to preserve and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of her homeland.
While the name Luellen has its roots in ancient Welsh history, it has also found its way into other cultures and languages over time, particularly in regions with strong Celtic influences. However, its origins and deep connections to Welsh tradition and identity remain an integral part of its meaning and significance.
People
Luellen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Luellen 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
Luellen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Luellen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 260 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Luellen 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 1,318,286 US residents.
Is Luellen a common name?
We classify Luellen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 695 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Luellen most popular?
The single biggest year for Luellen was 1948, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Luellen is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Luellen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 439 people with the name Luellen, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,609 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 Luellen 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 Luellen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Luellen leans strongly female. 423 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 20 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Luellen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luellen is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.1%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Luellen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Luellen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (356 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 Luellen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Luellen a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Luellen in the SSA data are female. 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 Luellen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Luellen 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 Luellen 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 Luellen as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Luellen, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.