2000
#3,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,940
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.06
Uncommon Last name
Lenz
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname referring to a person from the town of Lens, France, or Lenz, Austria.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,262 Americans carry the last name Lenz. That puts it at #3,298 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,953 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lenz 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lenz with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,953
Census rank
#3,298
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,693 bearers of the surname Lenz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3298th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 The earliest recorded spelling variations of the name include Lentz, Lentze, and Lenze, found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenz
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lenz 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 Lenz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 9,920
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 355
- Two or more races2.5% · 263
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 71
- Black or African American0.5% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lenz
Lenz 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
#3,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,191
+251 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 3.79
Rank movement Down 188 places
2020
#3,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,693
-498 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 3.58
Rank movement Down 72 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,038 | 10,940 | 4.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,226 | 11,191 | 3.79 | +251 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 188 places |
| 2020 | #3,298 | 10,693 | 3.58 | -498 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 72 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 Lenz 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 | #3,226 | #3,298 | -2.2% |
| Count | 11,191 | 10,693 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.79 | 3.58 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lenz bearers went from 11,191 to 10,693 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 72 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,226 to #3,298.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lenz
FAQ
Lenz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lenz?
Name Census estimates that about 12,262 living Americans carry the surname Lenz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,953 residents.
How common is Lenz?
Lenz ranks #3,298 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.58 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 10,693 people with the surname Lenz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,262), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.58 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 Lenz.
Has Lenz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lenz went from 11,191 recorded bearers to 10,693. That is a decrease of 498 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,226 to #3,298.
What does the Census say about the background of Lenz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (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 Lenz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (9,920 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lenz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (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 Lenz (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 Lenz mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname referring to a person from the town of Lens, France, or Lenz, Austria. 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 Lenz (3.58 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 last name Lenz?
See how common the surname Lenz is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.