2000
#3,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,597
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.56
Rare Last name
Lea
A topographic surname referring to a person who lived near a meadow or clearing in the woods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,576 Americans carry the last name Lea. That puts it at #4,125 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,793 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lea 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 Lea with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,793
Census rank
#4,125
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,351 bearers of the surname Lea in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4125th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lea, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lea
The surname LEA is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "leah," meaning a meadow, clearing, or woodland glade. It originated as a toponymic surname, indicating that the bearer lived near or came from a place with this geographic feature.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 12th century, with notable examples including Robert de la Lye, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, and William de la Leye, recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several references to places with names derived from "leah," such as Lega in Lincolnshire and Lye in Worcestershire, which may have influenced the development of the surname.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Lea, Lee, Legh, and Leigh, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and scribal interpretations. These variations often led to confusion and interchangeable use of the spellings.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Thomas de la Lee (c. 1345 - 1407), a prominent English soldier and landowner during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. He served as a Knight of the Garter and was appointed constable of Chester Castle.
Another notable figure was Sir Henry Lea (c. 1480 - 1539), a member of the English gentry who served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire and played a role in the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII.
During the English Civil War, William Lilly (1602 - 1681), an English astrologer and author, gained fame for his accurate predictions and astrological writings. He was widely consulted by both Royalists and Parliamentarians during the conflict.
In the literary realm, Mary Lea (1623 - 1700) was a notable Quaker writer and minister from Leicestershire, renowned for her spiritual autobiographies and religious works.
The Lea family has also produced notable figures in the fields of science and academia, such as Sir Thomas Lea (1857 - 1939), a distinguished British zoologist and expert on deep-sea fauna, and Henry Charles Lea (1825 - 1909), an American historian and scholar of medieval history and the Spanish Inquisition.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lea
Among Census respondents with the surname Lea, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lea 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 Lea surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.7% · 5,990
- Black or African American16.3% · 1,365
- Two or more races4.7% · 394
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 362
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 173
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 67
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lea
Lea 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
#3,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,180
-417 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.11
Rank movement Down 449 places
2020
#4,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,351
-829 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,414 | 9,597 | 3.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,863 | 9,180 | 3.11 | -417 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 449 places |
| 2020 | #4,125 | 8,351 | 2.79 | -829 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 262 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 Lea 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 | #3,863 | #4,125 | -6.8% |
| Count | 9,180 | 8,351 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.11 | 2.79 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lea bearers went from 9,180 to 8,351 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 262 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,863 to #4,125.
FAQ
Lea surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lea?
Name Census estimates that about 9,576 living Americans carry the surname Lea. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,793 residents.
How common is Lea?
Lea ranks #4,125 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,351 people with the surname Lea. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,576), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Lea.
Has Lea become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lea went from 9,180 recorded bearers to 8,351. That is a decrease of 829 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,863 to #4,125.
What does the Census say about the background of Lea?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lea, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Lea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (5,990 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lea appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.7%), Black (16.3%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Lea (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 Lea mean?
A topographic surname referring to a person who lived near a meadow or clearing in the woods. 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 Lea (2.79 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 Lea?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.