2000
#9,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,187
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Lampley
Derived from a place name meaning "clearing with lambs" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,567 Americans carry the last name Lampley. That puts it at #9,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,090 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lampley 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
3.6K
1 in 96,090
Census rank
#9,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,111 bearers of the surname Lampley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (44.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lampley
The surname Lampley is of English origin, with roots dating back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from a place name, possibly referring to a small hamlet or village where the earliest bearers of the name resided.
One theory suggests that Lampley is a combination of the Old English words "lamp" and "leah," which translates to "a bright or shining meadow." This could indicate that the name originated from a location with a particularly vibrant or lush meadow.
Another possibility is that Lampley is a variation of "Lamplough," which is derived from the Old English "lam" meaning "loam" or "clay," and "hlaw" meaning "hill" or "mound." In this case, the name may have been associated with a settlement situated on a clay or loamy hill.
While there are no definitive records of the Lampley name appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086, it is likely that the surname emerged during the 12th or 13th centuries, when the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread among the English population.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lampley name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a certain William de Lampley is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in the county of Lincolnshire by the late 12th century.
In the 14th century, a John Lampley was recorded as a resident of the village of Worleston, Cheshire, in 1349. This provides evidence of the name's presence in the northwest region of England during the Middle Ages.
Notable individuals with the Lampley surname include:
1. Sir Robert Lampley (c. 1580-1647), an English parliamentarian and landowner from Worcestershire, who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
2. Elizabeth Lampley (c. 1610-1680), an English Puritan and one of the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America.
3. William Lampley (1685-1751), a renowned English clockmaker and inventor from London, known for his innovative clock designs and horological contributions.
4. John Lampley (1726-1798), a British naval officer who served during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War, achieving the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy.
5. Mary Lampley (1842-1923), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded the Lampley College for Women in Missouri in 1869.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lampley
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (44.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Lampley 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 Lampley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.6% · 1,482
- White44.6% · 1,387
- Two or more races5.1% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lampley
Lampley 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
#9,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,402
+215 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 180 places
2020
#9,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,111
-291 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 343 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,377 | 3,187 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,557 | 3,402 | 1.15 | +215 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 180 places |
| 2020 | #9,900 | 3,111 | 1.04 | -291 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 343 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 Lampley 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 | #9,557 | #9,900 | -3.6% |
| Count | 3,402 | 3,111 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 1.04 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lampley bearers went from 3,402 to 3,111 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 343 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,557 to #9,900.
FAQ
Lampley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lampley?
Name Census estimates that about 3,567 living Americans carry the surname Lampley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,090 residents.
How common is Lampley?
Lampley ranks #9,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,111 people with the surname Lampley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,567), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Lampley.
Has Lampley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lampley went from 3,402 recorded bearers to 3,111. That is a decrease of 291 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,557 to #9,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Lampley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (44.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lampley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.6% (1,482 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lampley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.6%), White (44.6%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Lampley (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 Lampley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "clearing with lambs" 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 Lampley (1.04 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 have the surname Lampley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.