2000
#8,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,732
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Lair
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a church or a monastery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,245 Americans carry the last name Lair. That puts it at #8,531 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,743 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lair surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 80,743
Census rank
#8,531
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,702 bearers of the surname Lair in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8531st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lair, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lair
The surname Lair originates from France and is believed to have derived from the Old French word "l'aire," meaning "the threshing floor." This suggests that the name may have been initially assigned to someone who lived near or worked at a threshing floor.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lair can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of France, such as Normandy and Brittany. Some of the earliest spellings included Layre, Laire, and L'aire.
In the late 13th century, a record from the Abbey of Saint-Évroult in Normandy mentions a certain Geoffroy Lair, who was a landowner in the area. Additionally, a 14th-century document from the Duchy of Brittany refers to a noble family named Lair, indicating the name's association with the aristocracy.
One notable historical figure bearing the surname Lair was Jean Lair (c. 1598-1670), a French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. He was born in Normandy and played a crucial role in the development of astronomical instruments during the scientific revolution.
Another prominent individual with the surname Lair was Pierre-Aimé Lair (1795-1851), a French historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of Normandy and the French Revolution. His most famous work, "Histoire de la Révolution Française," published in 1835, is considered a seminal text on the subject.
In the 19th century, the name Lair was also associated with a family of French artists and sculptors. Victor Lair (1828-1898), a distinguished sculptor from Paris, created several notable works, including the statue of Napoleon III that stood in the Tuileries Garden.
Another significant figure was Adolphe Lair (1835-1904), a French historian and archivist who specialized in the study of medieval manuscripts and documents. He served as the Director of the National Archives in Paris and made significant contributions to the preservation of historical records.
It is worth noting that the surname Lair has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Lair, a commune in the Meuse department, and Laire, a commune in the Doubs department. These place names likely influenced the spelling and spread of the surname throughout the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lair
Among Census respondents with the surname Lair, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lair bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lair surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.0% · 3,036
- Black or African American9.3% · 346
- Two or more races4.3% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 110
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lair
Lair appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,425
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,923
+191 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 254 places
2020
#8,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,702
-221 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,171 | 3,732 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,425 | 3,923 | 1.33 | +191 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 254 places |
| 2020 | #8,531 | 3,702 | 1.24 | -221 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 106 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lair surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,425 | #8,531 | -1.3% |
| Count | 3,923 | 3,702 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.24 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lair bearers went from 3,923 to 3,702 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,425 to #8,531.
FAQ
Lair surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lair?
Name Census estimates that about 4,245 living Americans carry the surname Lair. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,743 residents.
How common is Lair?
Lair ranks #8,531 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,702 people with the surname Lair. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,245), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.24 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lair.
Has Lair become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lair went from 3,923 recorded bearers to 3,702. That is a decrease of 221 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,425 to #8,531.
What does the Census say about the background of Lair?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lair, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (3,036 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lair appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.0%), Black (9.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lair (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lair mean?
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a church or a monastery. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lair (1.24 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Lair?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.