2000
#11,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,617
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Lema
A Spanish surname derived from the Old Spanish word "leme," meaning a rudder or tiller of a boat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,711 Americans carry the last name Lema. That puts it at #7,756 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 72,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lema 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 Lema with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 72,756
Census rank
#7,756
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,108 bearers of the surname Lema in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7756th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lema, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.2%. The next largest groups are White (21.3%) and Black (9.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lema
The surname Lema has its origins in Spain and the Basque region. It is believed to be derived from the Basque word "lema", which means "summit" or "peak". This suggests that the name may have initially been a topographic name, given to someone who lived near a prominent hill or mountain.
The earliest recorded instances of the Lema surname date back to the 15th century in the Basque provinces of Spain. One notable example is Rodrigo Lema, a merchant from Vizcaya who was mentioned in local records from the year 1482. The name also appears in the census records of the town of Lekeitio in 1511, where several Lema families were documented.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas, some individuals bearing the Lema surname migrated to the New World. One such individual was Juan Lema, a Spanish soldier who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.
In the 18th century, the Lema surname can be found in various parts of Spain, particularly in the Basque region and the neighboring provinces. One notable bearer of the name was Ignacio Lema, a Basque philosopher and theologian who lived from 1712 to 1785 and authored several works on ethics and moral philosophy.
As the Lema surname spread beyond its Basque origins, it also took on variations in spelling, such as Lema, Lemas, and Lemma. One prominent individual with the latter spelling was Carl Samuel Lemma, a Swedish botanist and explorer who lived from 1785 to 1849 and made significant contributions to the study of plant life in South America.
Other notable individuals with the Lema surname include Manuel Lema, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Order of Santiago in 1815, and Juana Lema, a 19th-century Ecuadorian poet and activist who campaigned for women's rights and education in her home country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lema
Among Census respondents with the surname Lema, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.2%. The next largest groups are White (21.3%) and Black (9.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lema 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 Lema surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.2% · 2,719
- White21.3% · 877
- Black or African American9.8% · 401
- Two or more races1.3% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lema
Lema 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
#8,439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,913
+1,296 bearers (+49.5%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Up 2,684 places
2020
#7,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,108
+195 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Up 683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,123 | 2,617 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,439 | 3,913 | 1.33 | +1,296 bearers (+49.5%) | Up 2,684 places |
| 2020 | #7,756 | 4,108 | 1.37 | +195 bearers (+5.0%) | Up 683 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 Lema 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 | #8,439 | #7,756 | 8.1% |
| Count | 3,913 | 4,108 | 5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.37 | 3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lema bearers went from 3,913 to 4,108 (+5.0% change). The surname moved up 683 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,439 to #7,756.
FAQ
Lema surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lema?
Name Census estimates that about 4,711 living Americans carry the surname Lema. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 72,756 residents.
How common is Lema?
Lema ranks #7,756 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,108 people with the surname Lema. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,711), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Lema.
Has Lema become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lema went from 3,913 recorded bearers to 4,108. That is an increase of 195 (+5.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,439 to #7,756.
What does the Census say about the background of Lema?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lema, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.2%. The next largest groups are White (21.3%) and Black (9.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (2,719 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lema appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (66.2%), White (21.3%), Black (9.8%). 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 Lema (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 Lema mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the Old Spanish word "leme," meaning a rudder or tiller of a boat. 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 Lema (1.37 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 common is the surname Lema?
If you just want to know how many people are called Lema, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.