2000
#86,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 199
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Lesmes
A French surname derived from the place name Lèmes, referring to people from that region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 279 Americans carry the last name Lesmes. That puts it at #83,373 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,228,510 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lesmes 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
279
1 in 1,228,510
Census rank
#83,373
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
243
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 243 bearers of the surname Lesmes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 83373rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.5%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lesmes
The surname "Lesmes" is of Spanish origin, derived from the town of Lesmes (or Liesmas) in the Castile region of northern Spain. This place name is believed to have its roots in the Latin word "laesimus", meaning "injured" or "damaged", possibly referring to the site of a battle or other violent event in ancient times.
The earliest recorded instances of the Lesmes surname can be traced back to the 12th century in medieval Castilian records and documents. One notable early bearer of the name was Pedro de Lesmes, a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Almohad Muslim dynasty in 1212.
In the 13th century, a Franciscan friar named Juan de Lesmes (c.1220-1290) gained renown for his piety and was later beatified by the Catholic Church. He is commemorated as the patron saint of the town of Lesmes.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as Spanish explorers and settlers ventured to the Americas, the Lesmes surname spread to the New World. One noteworthy figure was Diego de Lesmes (1535-1604), a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and later served as a colonial administrator in New Spain.
Another prominent bearer of the Lesmes name was José Antonio de Lesmes (1702-1772), a Spanish naval officer and cartographer who played a crucial role in mapping the coastlines of South America and the Caribbean during the Age of Exploration.
In the 19th century, Juan Manuel de Lesmes (1823-1887) was a renowned Spanish painter known for his portraits and historical scenes, many of which hang in prestigious galleries across Spain and Europe.
Throughout its long history, the Lesmes surname has maintained a strong association with its roots in the Castilian region of Spain, though it has also spread to other parts of the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lesmes
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.5%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lesmes 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 Lesmes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino83.5% · 203
- White14.8% · 36
- Black or African American0.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lesmes
Lesmes 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
#89,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208
+9 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 2,077 places
2020
#83,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 243
+35 bearers (+16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 5,696 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #86,992 | 199 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #89,069 | 208 | 0.07 | +9 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 2,077 places |
| 2020 | #83,373 | 243 | 0.08 | +35 bearers (+16.8%) | Up 5,696 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 Lesmes 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 | #89,069 | #83,373 | 6.4% |
| Count | 208 | 243 | 16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.08 | 16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lesmes bearers went from 208 to 243 (+16.8% change). The surname moved up 5,696 positions in the national ranking, going from #89,069 to #83,373.
FAQ
Lesmes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lesmes?
Name Census estimates that about 279 living Americans carry the surname Lesmes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,228,510 residents.
How common is Lesmes?
Lesmes ranks #83,373 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 243 people with the surname Lesmes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (279), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Lesmes.
Has Lesmes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lesmes went from 208 recorded bearers to 243. That is an increase of 35 (+16.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #89,069 to #83,373.
What does the Census say about the background of Lesmes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lesmes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.5%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Black (0.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lesmes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (203 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lesmes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (83.5%), White (14.8%), Black (0.8%). 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 Lesmes (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 Lesmes mean?
A French surname derived from the place name Lèmes, referring to people from that region. 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 Lesmes (0.08 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 common is the surname Lesmes?
Want to know how many people are called Lesmes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.