2000
#8,326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,658
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Lambright
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "bright land" or "land on the River Lambourn" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,435 Americans carry the last name Lambright. That puts it at #6,825 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,064 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lambright 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
5.4K
1 in 63,064
Census rank
#6,825
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,740 bearers of the surname Lambright in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6825th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lambright, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lambright
The surname Lambright has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 12th century. It is a combination of the German words "lamb" and "recht," which together mean "lamb's pasture" or "lamb's meadow." The name likely originated as a description of someone who lived near or owned land suitable for grazing lambs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lambright name can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the town of Aachen, where a farmer named Heinreich Lambrecht is mentioned. This spelling variation, with the "cht" ending, was common in the Rhineland region during that time period.
By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, and variations like Lamprecht, Lambrecht, and Lambright began to emerge. In 1587, a man named Hans Lambright is recorded as living in the village of Oberndorf, located in what is now Bavaria.
The Lambright name also made its way to the Netherlands, where it was spelled as Lambregt or Lambregts. One notable bearer of this version was Jan Lambregt, a Dutch painter born in 1615 who specialized in landscapes and city scenes.
As German and Dutch immigrants began arriving in North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lambright name traveled with them. One of the earliest documented instances is that of Johannes Lambright, who was born in Germany in 1692 and later settled in Pennsylvania.
Other notable individuals with the Lambright surname include:
1. William Lambright (1776-1859), an American pioneer and early settler in Ohio.
2. John Lambright (1838-1912), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War.
3. Levi Lambright (1849-1932), a prominent farmer and businessman in Indiana.
4. Anna Lambright (1867-1951), a American educator and advocate for women's rights.
5. Leonard Lambright (1902-1978), a German-American artist known for his landscape paintings.
While the Lambright name has evolved over time and spread to various parts of the world, it can be traced back to its German roots and the descriptive meaning of "lamb's pasture."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lambright
Among Census respondents with the surname Lambright, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lambright 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 Lambright surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 4,125
- Black or African American8.4% · 397
- Two or more races2.3% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lambright
Lambright 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
#7,467
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,463
+805 bearers (+22.0%)
Per 100,000 1.51
Rank movement Up 859 places
2020
#6,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,740
+277 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.59
Rank movement Up 642 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,326 | 3,658 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,467 | 4,463 | 1.51 | +805 bearers (+22.0%) | Up 859 places |
| 2020 | #6,825 | 4,740 | 1.59 | +277 bearers (+6.2%) | Up 642 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 Lambright 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 | #7,467 | #6,825 | 8.6% |
| Count | 4,463 | 4,740 | 6.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.51 | 1.59 | 5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lambright bearers went from 4,463 to 4,740 (+6.2% change). The surname moved up 642 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,467 to #6,825.
FAQ
Lambright surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lambright?
Name Census estimates that about 5,435 living Americans carry the surname Lambright. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,064 residents.
How common is Lambright?
Lambright ranks #6,825 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,740 people with the surname Lambright. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,435), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lambright.
Has Lambright become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lambright went from 4,463 recorded bearers to 4,740. That is an increase of 277 (+6.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,467 to #6,825.
What does the Census say about the background of Lambright?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lambright, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Lambright in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (4,125 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lambright appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Black (8.4%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Lambright (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 Lambright mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "bright land" or "land on the River Lambourn" in Old English. 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 Lambright (1.59 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 Americans have the surname Lambright?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.