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

Lenz, 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 Lenz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lenz in America

Lenz is the 3226th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lenz surname appeared 11,191 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Lenz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lenz 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 Lenz

The surname LENZ is of Germanic origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in various regions of present-day Germany and Switzerland. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "lens," meaning "lentil," which may have been used as a nickname for someone with a lentil-shaped birthmark or freckles.

In some instances, LENZ may have also originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a lentil field or a place where lentils were grown. The earliest recorded spelling variations of the name include Lentz, Lentze, and Lenze, found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the LENZ surname was Hans Lenz, a merchant from Nuremberg, Germany, who was mentioned in city records in the late 15th century. Another notable historical figure was Johannes Lenz, a German astronomer and mathematician born in 1631, who made significant contributions to the study of comets and celestial mechanics.

In the 17th century, the LENZ surname appeared in the records of the German settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania, one of the earliest German communities in British North America. Johann Lenz, born in 1663, was among the first settlers of this colony, arriving in 1683.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the LENZ surname gained recognition in various fields. Johann Michael Lenz (1751-1792) was a Russian-German playwright and novelist, best known for his work "The Tutor." Gustav Lenz (1776-1839) was a German composer and organist, while Ernst Lenz (1808-1865) was a prominent German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.

Another notable figure was Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (1804-1865), a German physicist who formulated Lenz's law, a fundamental principle in electromagnetism. His contributions to the field of physics were significant and continue to be studied today.

Throughout history, the LENZ surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments associated with this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lenz

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

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 Lenz 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 Lenz 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 Lenz was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!