2000
#12,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,301
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Lamere
Of French origin, referring to the sea or someone living near the sea.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,734 Americans carry the last name Lamere. That puts it at #12,431 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,367 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lamere 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
2.7K
1 in 125,367
Census rank
#12,431
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,384 bearers of the surname Lamere in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12431st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamere, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (14.5%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lamere
The surname Lamere is of French origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "la mer," meaning "the sea." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived near the sea or worked in a maritime profession.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lamere can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The entry "Willelmus de la Mere" is listed as a landholder in Somerset, indicating that the name was in use in England by the late 11th century.
In France, the name Lamere can be traced back to the 13th century, with records showing a Jean de la Mere living in Normandy in 1285. The spelling variations at the time included "de la Mere," "de Lamere," and "Delamere."
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Lamere was Jacques Lamere, a French navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to North America between 1535 and 1542. He is credited with charting portions of the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In the 17th century, the Lamere family established itself in the French province of Poitou, where a branch of the family held the title of Seigneurs de Lamere, Lords of Lamere. This title was associated with the village of Lamère, located near the town of Châtellerault.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Lamere was François Lamere (1624-1692), a French composer and organist who served at the court of Louis XIV. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of the French Baroque musical style.
Another notable figure was Jean-Baptiste Lamere (1701-1757), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Roch and the Hôtel de Soubise.
In the 19th century, Émile Lamere (1813-1879) was a prominent French sculptor who created several public monuments and statues, including the statue of Voltaire in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris.
It is worth noting that the name Lamere has also been associated with various place names in France, such as the village of Lamère in the Vienne department, which likely contributed to the surname's origins and spread.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamere
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamere, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (14.5%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lamere 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 Lamere surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.2% · 1,769
- American Indian and Alaska Native14.5% · 345
- Two or more races5.9% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 98
- Black or African American0.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lamere
Lamere 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
#11,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,760
+459 bearers (+19.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 967 places
2020
#12,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,384
-376 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,016 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,382 | 2,301 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,415 | 2,760 | 0.94 | +459 bearers (+19.9%) | Up 967 places |
| 2020 | #12,431 | 2,384 | 0.80 | -376 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 1,016 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 Lamere 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 | #11,415 | #12,431 | -8.9% |
| Count | 2,760 | 2,384 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.80 | -15.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lamere bearers went from 2,760 to 2,384 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 1,016 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,415 to #12,431.
FAQ
Lamere surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lamere?
Name Census estimates that about 2,734 living Americans carry the surname Lamere. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,367 residents.
How common is Lamere?
Lamere ranks #12,431 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,384 people with the surname Lamere. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Lamere.
Has Lamere become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lamere went from 2,760 recorded bearers to 2,384. That is a decrease of 376 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,415 to #12,431.
What does the Census say about the background of Lamere?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamere, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (14.5%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Lamere in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (1,769 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lamere appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (14.5%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Lamere (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 Lamere mean?
Of French origin, referring to the sea or someone living near the sea. 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 Lamere (0.80 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 Lamere?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.