2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lelchuk
A Ukrainian surname meaning "from the meadow" or "from the valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Lelchuk. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lelchuk 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Lelchuk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lelchuk, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lelchuk
The surname Lelchuk has its origins in Eastern Europe, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to be of Ukrainian or Russian descent, derived from the Slavic word "lelya," meaning a flute or a pipe. This suggests that the name may have been associated with a family of musicians or instrument makers in its early days.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lelchuk can be found in a 17th-century census record from the city of Lviv, which was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. The document lists a Petro Lelchuk, who was a skilled woodcarver and is believed to have crafted intricate designs on musical instruments.
In the late 18th century, the Lelchuk name appeared in a registry of land ownership in the village of Zhytomyr, located in modern-day Ukraine. This record indicates that a family by the name of Lelchuk had established themselves as landowners and likely played a role in the agricultural community of the region.
A notable figure in the history of the Lelchuk name was Ivan Lelchuk, a Ukrainian poet and playwright who lived from 1837 to 1909. His works were instrumental in preserving and promoting the Ukrainian language and culture during a time when the region was under Russian rule.
Another individual of note was Oleksandr Lelchuk, born in 1868 in the city of Kharkiv, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Oleksandr was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Kharkiv, including the Derzhprom building, which is considered a masterpiece of Constructivist architecture.
In the 20th century, the Lelchuk name gained prominence in the field of literature with the Ukrainian-American author Yuri Lelchuk, who was born in 1914 in Kyiv. Yuri's novels and short stories explored themes of immigration, cultural identity, and the Ukrainian diaspora experience.
It is worth noting that variations in spelling, such as Lelchyk or Lelchenko, may have occurred over time due to regional dialects or transcription errors. Additionally, the name may have been influenced by other Slavic languages, such as Polish or Belarusian, as families migrated across borders.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lelchuk
Among Census respondents with the surname Lelchuk, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lelchuk 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 Lelchuk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lelchuk
Lelchuk appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-8 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,818 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 4,818 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 Lelchuk 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 | #150,452 | #155,270 | -3.2% |
| Count | 109 | 101 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lelchuk bearers went from 109 to 101 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 4,818 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #155,270.
FAQ
Lelchuk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lelchuk?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Lelchuk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Lelchuk?
Lelchuk ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Lelchuk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Lelchuk.
Has Lelchuk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lelchuk went from 109 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Lelchuk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lelchuk, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Lelchuk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lelchuk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Lelchuk (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 Lelchuk mean?
A Ukrainian surname meaning "from the meadow" or "from the valley". 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 Lelchuk (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Lelchuk?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.