2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lehi
A Hebrew surname possibly derived from a place name or meaning "jawbone".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Lehi. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lehi 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Lehi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lehi
The surname LEHI is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in ancient Israel. It is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word "lehi," which means "jawbone" or "cheekbone." This biblical reference can be found in the Book of Judges, where Samson used the jawbone of a donkey to slay a thousand Philistines.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LEHI can be traced back to the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter-day Saint movement. In this book, Lehi is the name of a prominent prophet who leads his family from Jerusalem to the Americas around 600 BC. This Lehi is regarded as a significant figure in the religious history of the Latter-day Saint movement.
During the medieval period, the name LEHI was likely adopted by Jewish families who traced their ancestry back to the biblical figure Lehi. It is possible that the name was also used by families who lived in or near the ancient town of Lehi, which was located in the territory of the Israelite tribe of Judah.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Judah Lehi was a prominent rabbi and scholar in the Jewish community of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey). He authored several works on Jewish law and theology, cementing the LEHI name in the annals of Sephardic Jewish history.
Another prominent individual with the surname LEHI was Rabbi Shlomo Lehi, who lived in the 18th century. He was a renowned Talmudic scholar and served as the chief rabbi of the city of Hebron in modern-day Palestine.
In more recent times, Yitzhak Lehi was an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a prominent figure in the National Religious Party and advocated for the interests of the religious Zionist movement in Israel.
While the surname LEHI is relatively uncommon, it has left an indelible mark on religious, scholarly, and political spheres throughout history. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Near East, and it has been carried by notable figures from various cultural and religious backgrounds over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lehi
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lehi 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 Lehi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native64.2% · 70
- White27.5% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lehi
Lehi 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,193 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-15 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,612 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 9,193 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 14,612 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 Lehi 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 | #135,593 | #150,205 | -10.8% |
| Count | 124 | 109 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lehi bearers went from 124 to 109 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 14,612 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #150,205.
FAQ
Lehi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lehi?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Lehi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Lehi?
Lehi ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Lehi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Lehi.
Has Lehi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lehi went from 124 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Lehi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lehi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lehi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (70 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lehi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (64.2%), White (27.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Lehi (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 Lehi mean?
A Hebrew surname possibly derived from a place name or meaning "jawbone". 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 Lehi (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 people share the surname Lehi?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.