Find out how popular the last name Lenis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lenis.

Lenis, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lenis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lenis in America

Lenis is the 38484th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lenis surname appeared 575 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lenis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lenis to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lenis

The surname Lenis originated in the Scandinavian regions of Northern Europe, particularly in Denmark and Norway, during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "leni," which means "gentle" or "lenient." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a mild or gentle demeanor.

In the early days, the name was often spelled as "Lene" or "Leni," reflecting the linguistic evolution and regional variations common in those times. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Danish and Norwegian parish records dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.

One notable historical reference to the name Lenis comes from the Icelandic Annals, a collection of medieval manuscripts that chronicle the history of Iceland. These annals mention a person named Leni Thorvaldsson, who lived in the late 12th century and was involved in a dispute over land ownership.

The earliest known individual with the surname Lenis was Hans Lenis, a Danish merchant born in the city of Odense in 1487. He is recorded as having established a successful trading business, exporting goods to various parts of Europe.

In Norway, one of the earliest documented instances of the name Lenis can be found in the records of the city of Bergen, where a man named Olav Lenis, born in 1521, worked as a skilled craftsman and woodcarver.

Another noteworthy figure with the surname Lenis was Jens Lenis, a Norwegian sailor and explorer who was part of the crew on the expeditions led by the famous Dutch navigator Willem Barents in the late 16th century. These expeditions aimed to discover a northern sea route to Asia and contributed significantly to the exploration of the Arctic regions.

In the 17th century, the name Lenis appeared in various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands, where a Dutch artist named Jan Lenis (1591-1662) gained recognition for his landscape paintings and etchings.

One of the most prominent individuals with the surname Lenis was the Swedish botanist and physician Carl Lenis (1716-1783), who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several influential works on botany.

Throughout history, the surname Lenis has been associated with various professions and walks of life, from merchants and craftsmen to artists, explorers, and scholars, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who carried this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lenis

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lenis.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lenis was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lenis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lenis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lenis, please contact us.

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