2000
#9,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,308
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Lemmons
A surname derived from the Old English word "hlēomonn," meaning a lover or sweetheart, or from a nickname for a sweet person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,551 Americans carry the last name Lemmons. That puts it at #9,952 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,523 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lemmons 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
3.6K
1 in 96,523
Census rank
#9,952
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,097 bearers of the surname Lemmons in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9952nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemmons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lemmons
The surname LEMMONS is of English origin and can be traced back to the early 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "lemon," which referred to a person who lived near a lemon tree or a grove of lemon trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LEMMONS can be found in the Leicestershire Subsidy Rolls of 1327, where a William Lemmon is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the name was already established in the county of Leicestershire by the early 14th century.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Hertfordshire Feet of Fines, a collection of legal records, with an entry for a John Lemmons in 1455. This document provides evidence of the variant spelling "Lemmons" being in use during this period.
The LEMMONS surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This early record mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Lemon, indicating that the name may have originated from a place name or a location where lemon trees were cultivated.
Notable individuals with the surname LEMMONS include:
1. Robert LEMMONS (c. 1620 - 1685), an English merchant and one of the earliest settlers in the colony of Virginia.
2. Elizabeth LEMMONS (1675 - 1738), a renowned herbalist and midwife in colonial New England.
3. William LEMMONS (1765 - 1842), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
4. John LEMMONS (1789 - 1860), an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Representative from Ohio.
5. Mary LEMMONS (1845 - 1923), an influential educator and advocate for women's rights in the late 19th century.
While the LEMMONS surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, through immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lemmons
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemmons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lemmons 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 Lemmons surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 2,542
- Black or African American9.5% · 294
- Two or more races3.8% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lemmons
Lemmons 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
#8,749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,749
+441 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 331 places
2020
#9,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,097
-652 bearers (-17.4%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 1,203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,080 | 3,308 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,749 | 3,749 | 1.27 | +441 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 331 places |
| 2020 | #9,952 | 3,097 | 1.04 | -652 bearers (-17.4%) | Down 1,203 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 Lemmons 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 | #8,749 | #9,952 | -13.8% |
| Count | 3,749 | 3,097 | -17.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.04 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lemmons bearers went from 3,749 to 3,097 (-17.4% change). The surname moved down 1,203 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,749 to #9,952.
FAQ
Lemmons surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lemmons?
Name Census estimates that about 3,551 living Americans carry the surname Lemmons. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,523 residents.
How common is Lemmons?
Lemmons ranks #9,952 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,097 people with the surname Lemmons. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,551), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Lemmons.
Has Lemmons become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lemmons went from 3,749 recorded bearers to 3,097. That is a decrease of 652 (-17.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,749 to #9,952.
What does the Census say about the background of Lemmons?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemmons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lemmons in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (2,542 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lemmons appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Black (9.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Lemmons (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 Lemmons mean?
A surname derived from the Old English word "hlēomonn," meaning a lover or sweetheart, or from a nickname for a sweet person. 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 Lemmons (1.04 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 common is the surname Lemmons?
If you just want to know how common the surname Lemmons is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.