2000
#235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115,186
First available Census row
Per 100,000 42.70
Common Last name
Lawson
The son of Lawrence, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Lawrence, meaning "from Laurentum" (a city in Italy).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131,325 Americans carry the last name Lawson. That puts it at #267 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 38.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,610 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lawson 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 Lawson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
131K
1 in 2,610
Census rank
#267
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
38.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114,522 bearers of the surname Lawson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 38.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 267th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawson, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lawson
The surname Lawson originated in England, emerging in the late 12th century. It is a patronymic name derived from the personal name "Law", a diminutive form of the Old English name "Lava", meaning "dweller by the hill". The suffix "-son" was commonly added to indicate "son of".
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest recorded version of the name appears as "Lauwine", referring to a landholder in Northamptonshire. By the 13th century, variations such as "Laueson" and "Lawesone" were found in records across northern England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Robert Lawson, a landowner in Yorkshire mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1194. Another early bearer was William Lawson, a merchant from Newcastle upon Tyne, who was granted a coat of arms in 1340.
The Lawson family held significant influence in Northumberland, where they owned estates such as Cramlington and Longhirst. Sir Ralph Lawson (c.1470-1522) served as a military commander under Henry VIII and played a crucial role in the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
Another notable figure was James Lawson (1538-1584), a Church of England clergyman who served as Dean of Peterborough and was involved in the translation of the Geneva Bible. In the 17th century, Sir Wilfrid Lawson (1619-1688) was a prominent Royalist during the English Civil War.
The surname also had connections to Scotland, where the Lawsons held lands in East Lothian and Fife. Thomas Lawson (1630-1691) was a Scottish mathematician and academic who made contributions to the development of logarithms.
Other historical figures include John Lawson (1615-1659), a Scottish-born merchant and explorer who led expeditions in the Carolinas, and Cecil Gordon Lawson (1851-1882), an English painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lawson
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawson, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lawson 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 Lawson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.8% · 81,026
- Black or African American20.4% · 23,402
- Two or more races4.5% · 5,150
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 3,621
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 668
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 655
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lawson
Lawson 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
#256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119,053
+3,867 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 40.36
Rank movement Down 21 places
2020
#267
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114,522
-4,531 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 38.31
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #235 | 115,186 | 42.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #256 | 119,053 | 40.36 | +3,867 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 21 places |
| 2020 | #267 | 114,522 | 38.31 | -4,531 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 11 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 Lawson 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 | #256 | #267 | -4.3% |
| Count | 119,053 | 114,522 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 40.36 | 38.31 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lawson bearers went from 119,053 to 114,522 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #256 to #267.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lawson
FAQ
Lawson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lawson?
Name Census estimates that about 131,325 living Americans carry the surname Lawson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,610 residents.
How common is Lawson?
Lawson ranks #267 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 38.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 38 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114,522 people with the surname Lawson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131,325), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 38.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 38.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 38 of them to have the surname Lawson.
Has Lawson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lawson went from 119,053 recorded bearers to 114,522. That is a decrease of 4,531 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #256 to #267.
What does the Census say about the background of Lawson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lawson, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Lawson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (81,026 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lawson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.8%), Black (20.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Lawson (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 Lawson mean?
The son of Lawrence, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Lawrence, meaning "from Laurentum" (a city in Italy). 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 Lawson (38.31 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 Lawson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.