2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lesmann
French surname derived from the Germanic word "lido" meaning "people".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Lesmann. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lesmann 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Lesmann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lesmann
The surname Lesmann is of German origin and dates back to the early medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the regions of northern Germany, particularly in areas like Lower Saxony and Westphalia. The name Lesmann is derived from the Old German words "les" meaning meadow or pasture, and "mann" meaning man or person. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a meadow or pastureland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lesmann can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval cartulary from the 11th century that documented property transfers and legal transactions in Westphalia. The Lesmann name appears in several entries, indicating that it was already well-established in the region at that time.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Helmich Lesmann was recorded as a vassal of the Count of Tecklenburg in Westphalia. This is one of the earliest known individuals to bear the Lesmann name and suggests that the family held a certain level of status and landholdings in the area.
The name Lesmann has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany. For example, there is a village called Lesmannsdorf in Saxony-Anhalt, which likely derived its name from an early settler or landowner with the Lesmann surname.
Notable individuals with the Lesmann surname include:
1. Johann Friedrich Lesmann (1764-1838), a German composer and organist from Braunschweig.
2. Karl Lesmann (1837-1914), a German landscape painter from Düsseldorf.
3. Otto Lesmann (1843-1910), a German geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossils in the Palaeozoic era.
4. Theodor Lesmann (1876-1944), a German politician and trade unionist who served as a member of the Reichstag in the Weimar Republic.
5. Gerhard Lesmann (1931-2011), a German composer and conductor known for his work in contemporary classical music.
While the Lesmann name originated in northern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the country and the world due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries. However, its roots can be traced back to the meadows and pastures of medieval Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where it first emerged as a descriptive surname for those who lived and worked in these areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lesmann
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lesmann 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 Lesmann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 106
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lesmann
Lesmann appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,042 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,042 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 Lesmann 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 | #139,228 | #144,270 | -3.6% |
| Count | 120 | 117 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lesmann bearers went from 120 to 117 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,042 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #144,270.
FAQ
Lesmann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lesmann?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Lesmann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Lesmann?
Lesmann ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Lesmann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Lesmann.
Has Lesmann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lesmann went from 120 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Lesmann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Lesmann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lesmann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Lesmann (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 Lesmann mean?
French surname derived from the Germanic word "lido" meaning "people". 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 Lesmann (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 Americans have the surname Lesmann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.