2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lehe
A Latvian surname derived from the word for "meadow" or "pasture."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Lehe. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lehe 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Lehe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lehe
The surname LEHE is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages, specifically the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "leh," which referred to a clearing or glade in a forest. This likely indicates that the name originally belonged to individuals who resided near or settled in such clearings.
In the early medieval period, the LEHE surname was primarily concentrated in the regions of Saxony and Westphalia in present-day Germany. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in regional chronicles and land registries from the 14th and 15th centuries.
While the LEHE surname does not appear in prominent historical manuscripts like the Domesday Book, it is worth noting that variant spellings such as "Leehe," "Lehhe," and "Leh" have been documented in various German records from the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the LEHE surname was Hans Lehe, a prominent merchant from the city of Lübeck, who lived between 1420 and 1489. Another notable individual was Christoph Lehe, a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony, who lived from 1508 to 1572.
In the 17th century, Johann Lehe, a German composer and organist, made significant contributions to the development of church music in the region of Thuringia. He was born in 1643 and died in 1701.
The 18th century saw the rise of Johann Gottfried Lehe, a renowned German architect and urban planner, who was responsible for the design of several notable buildings and city plans in Saxony. He lived from 1725 to 1798.
In more recent times, one of the most notable bearers of the LEHE surname was Wilhelm Lehe, a German politician and statesman who served as the Minister-President of Saxony from 1945 to 1949. He was born in 1884 and died in 1966.
While these are just a few examples, the LEHE surname has a rich history that spans several centuries, with its origins deeply rooted in the medieval German landscape and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lehe
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lehe 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 Lehe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 6
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lehe
Lehe 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,881 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,814 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 8,881 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 6,814 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 Lehe 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 | #141,140 | #147,954 | -4.8% |
| Count | 118 | 112 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lehe bearers went from 118 to 112 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 6,814 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #147,954.
FAQ
Lehe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lehe?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Lehe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Lehe?
Lehe ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Lehe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Lehe.
Has Lehe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lehe went from 118 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Lehe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Lehe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lehe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Lehe (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 Lehe mean?
A Latvian surname derived from the word for "meadow" or "pasture." 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 Lehe (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Lehe?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.