Find out how popular the last name Lavin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lavin.

Lavin, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lavin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lavin in America

Lavin is the 5224th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lavin surname appeared 6,679 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Lavin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lavin to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lavin

The surname Lavin is believed to have originated in Ireland. It is a variant spelling of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Leamhain, which means "descendant of Leamhain." Leamhain was a personal name derived from the old Irish word "leamh," meaning "elm tree."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Lavin can be traced back to the 12th century in County Cavan, Ireland. The name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a famous medieval Irish chronicle, which mentions a chieftain named Muircheartach Ó Leamhain who lived in the 12th century.

In the 16th century, the name Lavin was also found in County Monaghan, where it was anglicized from the Irish Ó Leamhain. Records from this time period show various spellings, including Levyn, Levin, and Lavyn.

One notable figure with the surname Lavin was Patrick Lavin, an Irish Franciscan friar who lived in the 17th century. He was a renowned scholar and author, known for his work on Irish hagiography (the study of saints' lives).

Another prominent individual was Jeremiah Lavin, an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist born in 1833. He made his fortune in the tobacco industry and was a significant benefactor to various educational and charitable institutions in the United States.

In the 19th century, the name Lavin gained wider recognition through the work of James Lavin, an Irish poet and playwright born in 1828. He was celebrated for his plays and poems that captured the spirit of Irish life and culture.

John Lavin, born in 1854, was a notable Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, from 1901 to 1905. He played a crucial role in the city's development during his tenure.

Mary Lavin, born in 1912, was an acclaimed Irish writer and short story author. Her works, which often explored the lives of ordinary Irish people, earned her numerous literary awards and recognition.

The surname Lavin has a rich history rooted in Ireland, with connections to various notable figures across different fields, from literature and religion to business and politics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lavin

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lavin.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lavin was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lavin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lavin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lavin, please contact us.

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