2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lemnah
A surname derived from the Arabic word "laman" meaning a sour or acidic substance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Lemnah. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lemnah 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Lemnah in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemnah, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lemnah
The surname LEMNAH has its origins in the ancient Phoenician civilization, which flourished in the coastal regions of present-day Lebanon, Syria, and parts of the Mediterranean around 1500 BC. The name is derived from the Phoenician word "lemnah," meaning "harbor" or "port," reflecting the maritime heritage of the people who bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LEMNAH surname can be found in a Phoenician inscription from the 8th century BC, discovered in the ancient city of Byblos. This inscription mentions a merchant named Abram LEMNAH, who was involved in trade between the Phoenician cities and their colonies in the Mediterranean.
During the Roman era, the LEMNAH name appeared in various documents and records, particularly in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. A notable example is Marcus Antonius LEMNAH, a Roman soldier who served under the emperor Trajan in the early 2nd century AD.
In the Middle Ages, the LEMNAH surname was prevalent in the coastal regions of the Levant, where many Phoenician settlements had existed. One historical figure bearing this name was Salah al-Din LEMNAH, a renowned navigator and cartographer from Tyre, who lived in the 12th century and contributed to the advancement of maritime navigation.
The LEMNAH name also found its way to Europe during the Crusades, as many Phoenician traders and sailors accompanied the Crusaders on their voyages. In the 13th century, there is mention of a merchant named Pietro LEMNAH, who settled in the Italian city of Venice and established a successful trading business with the Levant.
Another notable individual with the LEMNAH surname was Yusuf LEMNAH, a prominent scholar and philosopher from Tripoli, Lebanon, who lived in the 16th century. His works on metaphysics and logic were widely studied in the Islamic world at that time.
As the centuries passed, the LEMNAH name spread to various parts of the world, carried by merchants, sailors, and explorers of Phoenician descent. Despite its ancient origins, the LEMNAH surname has endured and continues to be found in various countries today, serving as a testament to the far-reaching influence of the Phoenician civilization.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lemnah
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemnah, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lemnah 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 Lemnah surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 105
- Two or more races5.1% · 6
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lemnah
Lemnah 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
-5 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 11,414 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-15 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | -5 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 11,414 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 15,262 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 Lemnah 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 | #128,249 | #143,511 | -11.9% |
| Count | 133 | 118 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lemnah bearers went from 133 to 118 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 15,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #143,511.
FAQ
Lemnah surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lemnah?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Lemnah. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Lemnah?
Lemnah ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Lemnah. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Lemnah.
Has Lemnah become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lemnah went from 133 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Lemnah?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemnah, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (2.5%). 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 Lemnah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lemnah appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Black (2.5%). 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 Lemnah (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 Lemnah mean?
A surname derived from the Arabic word "laman" meaning a sour or acidic substance. 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 Lemnah (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 are called Lemnah?
Want to know how many people have the surname Lemnah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.