2000
#2,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,699
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.71
Uncommon Last name
Lassiter
Derived from an English place name meaning "leather-worker's place," referring to an occupational leather-making area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,942 Americans carry the last name Lassiter. That puts it at #2,885 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,584 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lassiter 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
14K
1 in 24,584
Census rank
#2,885
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,158 bearers of the surname Lassiter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2885th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lassiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (35.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lassiter
The surname Lassiter is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "læs" meaning pasture or meadow, and "tun" meaning enclosure or settlement. This suggests the name originally referred to someone who lived near or worked on a pasture or meadowland.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century, with a William de Lasseter listed in the Feet of Fines for Norfolk in 1275. Other early spellings include Lassiter, Lassyter, and Lassetor.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various records such as the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327, where a John Lassiter was mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also included a reference to a place called Lassiter's Field in Leicestershire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Lassiter, a wealthy landowner and knight who lived in the late 15th century in Gloucestershire. He was known for his involvement in the Wars of the Roses, fighting alongside the Yorkist forces.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name became more widespread across England, with various branches of the Lassiter family establishing themselves in different counties. Notable individuals from this period include Thomas Lassiter (1563-1638), a successful merchant and alderman in London, and Robert Lassiter (1621-1688), a Puritan minister who emigrated to colonial America and settled in Massachusetts.
In the 18th century, the Lassiter name was associated with the village of Lassiter Green in Staffordshire, which may have been named after a local family or landowner. A prominent individual from this time was Captain William Lassiter (1732-1801), a naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War.
Over the centuries, several variations of the name have emerged, such as Lasseter, Lassetter, and Lassiter. The name has also been found in other English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States, where it was brought by early English settlers and immigrants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lassiter
Among Census respondents with the surname Lassiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (35.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Lassiter 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 Lassiter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.0% · 6,806
- Black or African American35.7% · 4,346
- Two or more races4.4% · 530
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 363
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lassiter
Lassiter 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
#2,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,066
+367 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 4.43
Rank movement Down 141 places
2020
#2,885
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,158
-908 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 4.07
Rank movement Down 125 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,619 | 12,699 | 4.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,760 | 13,066 | 4.43 | +367 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 141 places |
| 2020 | #2,885 | 12,158 | 4.07 | -908 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 125 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 Lassiter 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 | #2,760 | #2,885 | -4.5% |
| Count | 13,066 | 12,158 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.43 | 4.07 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lassiter bearers went from 13,066 to 12,158 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 125 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,760 to #2,885.
FAQ
Lassiter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lassiter?
Name Census estimates that about 13,942 living Americans carry the surname Lassiter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,584 residents.
How common is Lassiter?
Lassiter ranks #2,885 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,158 people with the surname Lassiter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,942), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Lassiter.
Has Lassiter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lassiter went from 13,066 recorded bearers to 12,158. That is a decrease of 908 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,760 to #2,885.
What does the Census say about the background of Lassiter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lassiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (35.7%) 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 Lassiter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (6,806 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lassiter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.0%), Black (35.7%), 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 Lassiter (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 Lassiter mean?
Derived from an English place name meaning "leather-worker's place," referring to an occupational leather-making area. 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 Lassiter (4.07 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 are called Lassiter?
Want to know how many people have the last name Lassiter? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.