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

Lazarus, 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 Lazarus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lazarus in America

Lazarus is the 7541st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lazarus surname appeared 4,410 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 Lazarus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lazarus 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 Lazarus

The surname Lazarus originated in ancient Greece, derived from the Hebrew name Eleazar, meaning "God has helped." It first appeared in the Bible as the name of the brother of Mary and Martha, who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. This biblical association contributed to the name's widespread adoption across Europe during the Middle Ages.

Lazarus is a variant of the Greek name Lazaros, which was transliterated into Latin as Lazarus. The name spread throughout the Byzantine Empire and was later adopted by various European cultures, resulting in different spellings such as Lazare in French, Lázaro in Spanish, and Lazzaro in Italian.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Lazarus can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The book mentions a landowner named Lazarus in Norfolk, indicating the name's presence in England during the 11th century.

In the 13th century, a prominent English scholar named Roger Lazarus (c. 1200-1274) gained recognition for his work on canon law. He served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and contributed significantly to the development of legal education in England.

During the 15th century, the surname Lazarus appeared in various parts of Europe. One notable figure was Lazarus Rainer (c. 1450-1518), a German humanist, poet, and teacher who worked at the University of Vienna and was known for his Latin poetry.

In the 16th century, the name gained prominence in Italy with the artist Sebastiano Lazari (c. 1505-1557), also known as Sebastiano del Piombo. He was a prominent Renaissance painter and a contemporary of Michelangelo, known for his oil paintings and frescoes in churches in Rome.

Another notable figure with the surname Lazarus was Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), an American poet and writer of Sephardic Jewish descent. Her famous sonnet "The New Colossus" is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, celebrating the United States as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

The surname Lazarus has also been associated with various places and landmarks. For example, the island of Lazarus off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus, is believed to have been named after the biblical Lazarus, who was said to have taken refuge there after his resurrection.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lazarus

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

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 Lazarus 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 Lazarus 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 Lazarus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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