2000
#51,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 378
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Lawshe
A variant spelling of the English surname Lawes or Lawson, meaning "son of Law".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 484 Americans carry the last name Lawshe. That puts it at #52,998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 708,170 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lawshe 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
484
1 in 708,170
Census rank
#52,998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
422
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 422 bearers of the surname Lawshe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 52998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawshe, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lawshe
The surname LAWSHE has its origins in the Scottish Lowlands, likely emerging in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "hlaw," meaning a small hill or mound, combined with the Old Norse word "sætr," meaning a summer pasture or dwelling. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived or worked on a small hill or elevated area used for grazing livestock during the warmer months.
Early records of the name can be found in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of the late 13th century, where it appears as Lawsetter and Lawseter. These variations in spelling were common in medieval times before standardized spelling conventions were established. The LAWSHE spelling itself appears to have emerged in the 17th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was John Lawshe, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1602. He later emigrated to the American colonies, settling in Maryland in the 1630s. Another notable figure was Robert Lawshe, a Scottish merchant born in Glasgow in 1712, who established a successful trading company in the West Indies.
In the 18th century, the LAWSHE name appeared in various parish records and legal documents across Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and the Scottish Borders. Families with this surname were often involved in agriculture, as the name's origins suggest a connection to rural life and pastoralism.
One prominent bearer of the LAWSHE name was William Lawshe, a Scottish philosopher and theologian born in Edinburgh in 1753. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and published several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the 19th century, the LAWSHE surname began to spread more widely as Scottish families emigrated to other parts of the British Empire and beyond. Notable individuals from this period include James Lawshe (1810-1887), a Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and Mary Lawshe (1858-1934), an American educator and feminist who was a pioneer in the field of women's higher education.
Throughout its history, the LAWSHE surname has maintained a strong connection to its Scottish roots, even as families bearing this name have spread across the globe. While not a particularly common surname, it remains a unique and distinctive name with a rich heritage rooted in the rural landscapes of medieval Scotland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lawshe
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawshe, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lawshe 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 Lawshe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 334
- Black or African American10.9% · 46
- Two or more races5.2% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lawshe
Lawshe 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
#51,066
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 408
+30 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 614 places
2020
#52,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 422
+14 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 1,932 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #51,680 | 378 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #51,066 | 408 | 0.14 | +30 bearers (+7.9%) | Up 614 places |
| 2020 | #52,998 | 422 | 0.14 | +14 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 1,932 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 Lawshe 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 | #51,066 | #52,998 | -3.8% |
| Count | 408 | 422 | 3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lawshe bearers went from 408 to 422 (+3.4% change). The surname moved down 1,932 positions in the national ranking, going from #51,066 to #52,998.
FAQ
Lawshe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lawshe?
Name Census estimates that about 484 living Americans carry the surname Lawshe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 708,170 residents.
How common is Lawshe?
Lawshe ranks #52,998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 422 people with the surname Lawshe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (484), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Lawshe.
Has Lawshe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lawshe went from 408 recorded bearers to 422. That is an increase of 14 (+3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #51,066 to #52,998.
What does the Census say about the background of Lawshe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawshe, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Lawshe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (334 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lawshe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (10.9%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Lawshe (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 Lawshe mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Lawes or Lawson, meaning "son of Law". 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 Lawshe (0.14 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 Lawshe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.