2000
#11,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,639
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Lefkowitz
A Jewish surname derived from the town of Lefkowitz in Belarus, likely referring to an ancestor's place of origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,538 Americans carry the last name Lefkowitz. That puts it at #9,981 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,878 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lefkowitz 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
3.5K
1 in 96,878
Census rank
#9,981
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,085 bearers of the surname Lefkowitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9981st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lefkowitz
The surname Lefkowitz has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the areas that are now parts of modern-day Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a Jewish surname that emerged during the Middle Ages, likely between the 13th and 15th centuries.
Lefkowitz is derived from the Yiddish word "levke," which means "lion." This name was often given to children as a way of bestowing upon them the strength and courage associated with the lion. The suffix "-itz" or "-witz" is a common ending for many Eastern European surnames, indicating a patronymic or a place of origin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lefkowitz can be found in the Metrical Book of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, a historical document from the late 16th century. This suggests that the name was already in use among Jewish communities in the region during that time period.
In the 17th century, a reference to a certain Moshe Lefkowitz appears in the records of the Jewish community in Lublin, Poland. This Moshe Lefkowitz was likely a prominent figure or a respected member of the community at that time.
During the 18th century, the name Lefkowitz can be found in various rabbinical writings and Jewish scholarly works, indicating the presence of individuals with this surname among the intellectual and religious circles of the era.
One notable individual with the surname Lefkowitz was Rabbi Yitzchak Lefkowitz, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was a renowned Talmudic scholar and served as the Rabbi of Vilna, one of the most important Jewish communities in Eastern Europe at the time.
Another prominent figure was Shmuel Lefkowitz, a 19th-century Jewish writer and journalist from Odessa, Ukraine. He was known for his contributions to Yiddish literature and his works exploring Jewish culture and identity.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Lefkowitz was Louis Lefkowitz, an American lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of New York from 1957 to 1978. He was born in 1904 and passed away in 1996.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lefkowitz include David Lefkowitz, a 20th-century American composer and music educator, and Rabbi Moshe Lefkowitz, a prominent contemporary rabbi and Talmudic scholar based in Israel.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lefkowitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lefkowitz 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 Lefkowitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 2,926
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 74
- Two or more races1.3% · 41
- Black or African American0.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lefkowitz
Lefkowitz 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
#10,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,138
+499 bearers (+18.9%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 775 places
2020
#9,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,085
-53 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 293 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,049 | 2,639 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,274 | 3,138 | 1.06 | +499 bearers (+18.9%) | Up 775 places |
| 2020 | #9,981 | 3,085 | 1.03 | -53 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 293 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 Lefkowitz 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 | #10,274 | #9,981 | 2.9% |
| Count | 3,138 | 3,085 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 1.03 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lefkowitz bearers went from 3,138 to 3,085 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 293 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,274 to #9,981.
FAQ
Lefkowitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lefkowitz?
Name Census estimates that about 3,538 living Americans carry the surname Lefkowitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,878 residents.
How common is Lefkowitz?
Lefkowitz ranks #9,981 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,085 people with the surname Lefkowitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,538), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Lefkowitz.
Has Lefkowitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lefkowitz went from 3,138 recorded bearers to 3,085. That is a decrease of 53 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,274 to #9,981.
What does the Census say about the background of Lefkowitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Lefkowitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (2,926 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lefkowitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Hispanic (2.4%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Lefkowitz (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 Lefkowitz mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the town of Lefkowitz in Belarus, likely referring to an ancestor's place of origin. 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 Lefkowitz (1.03 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 are called Lefkowitz?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Lefkowitz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.