2000
#12,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Laymon
Derived from a French place name meaning "the monk" or "the hermit," likely referring to a nearby religious settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,357 Americans carry the last name Laymon. That puts it at #14,034 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laymon 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
2.4K
1 in 145,420
Census rank
#14,034
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,055 bearers of the surname Laymon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14034th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laymon, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laymon
The surname Laymon is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing, and "mann" meaning a man or person. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived or worked in a meadow or clearing.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John de Leyamon, a priest and poet who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He is best known for his work "Brut," a Middle English chronicle that recounts the history of Britain from its mythical origins to the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various records and documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it was spelled "Leyman." This variant spelling suggests that the name may have been pronounced differently in different regions of England.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir John Laymon, a military commander who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He was knighted for his service to King Edward IV and was granted lands in Gloucestershire.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Laymon appeared in various parish records and court documents across England. One notable example is Thomas Laymon, a merchant who was involved in the early colonization of Virginia in the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, the name Laymon was found in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire. One notable bearer of the name was William Laymon, a renowned horticulturist who developed several new varieties of fruit trees and roses.
As the name spread across England, it also took on various spellings, such as Layman, Leyman, and Leymon. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during that time.
Over the centuries, several notable figures have borne the surname Laymon, including writers, artists, and academics. One example is Richard Laymon, an American author of horror fiction who wrote numerous novels and short stories between the 1970s and the early 2000s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laymon
Among Census respondents with the surname Laymon, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Laymon 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 Laymon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 1,747
- Two or more races5.1% · 105
- Black or African American4.5% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laymon
Laymon 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
#13,727
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,205
+41 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 741 places
2020
#14,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,055
-150 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 307 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,986 | 2,164 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,727 | 2,205 | 0.75 | +41 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 741 places |
| 2020 | #14,034 | 2,055 | 0.69 | -150 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 307 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 Laymon 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 | #13,727 | #14,034 | -2.2% |
| Count | 2,205 | 2,055 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.69 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laymon bearers went from 2,205 to 2,055 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 307 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,727 to #14,034.
FAQ
Laymon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laymon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,357 living Americans carry the surname Laymon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,420 residents.
How common is Laymon?
Laymon ranks #14,034 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,055 people with the surname Laymon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Laymon.
Has Laymon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laymon went from 2,205 recorded bearers to 2,055. That is a decrease of 150 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,727 to #14,034.
What does the Census say about the background of Laymon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laymon, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (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 Laymon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (1,747 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laymon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.0%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Black (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 Laymon (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 Laymon mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "the monk" or "the hermit," likely referring to a nearby religious settlement. 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 Laymon (0.69 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 Laymon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.