2000
#2,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,013
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.45
Uncommon Last name
Lemons
An English surname derived from the Old English word "hlehmann," meaning a person who lived near a lemon tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,178 Americans carry the last name Lemons. That puts it at #3,054 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,010 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lemons 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
13K
1 in 26,010
Census rank
#3,054
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,492 bearers of the surname Lemons in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3054th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemons, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lemons
The surname Lemons is believed to have originated in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "lemon" and "dun," meaning a lemon-colored hill or a hill covered with lemon trees. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it appears as "Lemundun."
During the Middle Ages, the name was relatively uncommon, but it can be traced to various regions of England, particularly the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to places with similar names, such as "Lemon" in Gloucestershire and "Lemonville" in Somerset, which may have influenced the development of the surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Lemons, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. Another notable figure was William Lemons, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 16th century and was involved in the overseas trade with the West Indies.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records and legal documents. For instance, the birth of Thomas Lemons was recorded in the parish of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in 1624. Meanwhile, in 1692, a certain Elizabeth Lemons was mentioned in a land deed in the village of Lechlade, Gloucestershire.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lemons family spread across different parts of England, with some members emigrating to other parts of the British Empire, including North America and Australia. One prominent individual from this period was Sir Charles Lemons (1790-1868), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became an influential politician.
Other notable bearers of the surname Lemons include the English poet and playwright John Lemons (1820-1892), known for his romantic works, and the American inventor and industrialist George Lemons (1855-1932), who pioneered various innovations in the field of agricultural machinery.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lemons
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemons, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lemons 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 Lemons surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.4% · 7,861
- Black or African American22.4% · 2,573
- Two or more races4.3% · 489
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 444
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lemons
Lemons 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
#2,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,322
+309 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 4.18
Rank movement Down 154 places
2020
#3,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,492
-830 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 3.84
Rank movement Down 144 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,756 | 12,013 | 4.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,910 | 12,322 | 4.18 | +309 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 154 places |
| 2020 | #3,054 | 11,492 | 3.84 | -830 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 144 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 Lemons 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 | #2,910 | #3,054 | -4.9% |
| Count | 12,322 | 11,492 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.18 | 3.84 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lemons bearers went from 12,322 to 11,492 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 144 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,910 to #3,054.
FAQ
Lemons surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lemons?
Name Census estimates that about 13,178 living Americans carry the surname Lemons. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,010 residents.
How common is Lemons?
Lemons ranks #3,054 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,492 people with the surname Lemons. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Lemons.
Has Lemons become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lemons went from 12,322 recorded bearers to 11,492. That is a decrease of 830 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,910 to #3,054.
What does the Census say about the background of Lemons?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lemons, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Lemons in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.4% (7,861 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lemons appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.4%), Black (22.4%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Lemons (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 Lemons mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English word "hlehmann," meaning a person who lived near a lemon tree. 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 Lemons (3.84 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 have the surname Lemons?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.