2000
#3,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,689
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.59
Uncommon Last name
Lanham
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "long homestead" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,894 Americans carry the last name Lanham. That puts it at #3,644 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,463 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lanham 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lanham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,463
Census rank
#3,644
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.5K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,500 bearers of the surname Lanham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3644th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lanham, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lanham
The surname Lanham has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "lan" meaning "lane" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a lane or a settlement located along a lane.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lanham can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, where it is spelled as "Laneham". The Pipe Rolls were administrative records maintained by the English Exchequer during the reign of King Richard I.
The Lanham surname is also mentioned in the Hundred Rolls, a census-like survey conducted in England between 1274 and 1279. The Hundred Rolls contain references to individuals with the surname Lanham in various counties, including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Cambridgeshire.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in the form "Lanhame" in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327. The Subsidy Rolls were tax records used to collect subsidies from the population for military campaigns.
One notable historical figure with the surname Lanham was Sir John Lanham, a 15th-century English landowner and Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire. He lived from around 1410 to 1474 and served as Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1451.
Another prominent individual was William Lanham, an English clergyman who lived in the 16th century. He was appointed as the Canon of Windsor in 1553 and held various other ecclesiastical positions during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, Sampson Lanham, born in 1593, was an English puritan minister and theologian. He served as the rector of St. Edmund's Church in Lombard Street, London, and was known for his sermons and religious writings.
The surname Lanham also has associations with place names in England. For example, the village of Lanham in Nottinghamshire was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Laneham". Similarly, the hamlet of Lanham in Suffolk was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name "Laneham".
Throughout history, the surname Lanham has undergone various spelling variations, such as Laneham, Lanehame, Lanhame, and Lanaham, reflecting regional dialects and changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lanham
Among Census respondents with the surname Lanham, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Lanham 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 Lanham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 8,280
- Black or African American4.5% · 427
- Two or more races4.4% · 418
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 264
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lanham
Lanham 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
#3,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,170
+481 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 3.45
Rank movement Down 134 places
2020
#3,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,500
-670 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 3.18
Rank movement Down 131 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,379 | 9,689 | 3.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,513 | 10,170 | 3.45 | +481 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 134 places |
| 2020 | #3,644 | 9,500 | 3.18 | -670 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 131 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 Lanham 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 | #3,513 | #3,644 | -3.7% |
| Count | 10,170 | 9,500 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.45 | 3.18 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lanham bearers went from 10,170 to 9,500 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 131 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,513 to #3,644.
FAQ
Lanham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lanham?
Name Census estimates that about 10,894 living Americans carry the surname Lanham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,463 residents.
How common is Lanham?
Lanham ranks #3,644 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,500 people with the surname Lanham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,894), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Lanham.
Has Lanham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lanham went from 10,170 recorded bearers to 9,500. That is a decrease of 670 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,513 to #3,644.
What does the Census say about the background of Lanham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lanham, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Lanham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (8,280 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lanham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Lanham (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 Lanham mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "long homestead" 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 Lanham (3.18 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 common is the surname Lanham?
Want to know how many people have the last name Lanham? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.