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

Lev, 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 Lev surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lev in America

Lev is the 20697th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lev surname appeared 1,278 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 Lev.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lev 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 Lev

The surname LEV has its origins in Russia and other Slavic countries. It is derived from the Old Russian word "lev", meaning "lion". This name is thought to have been originally used as a nickname or descriptive surname for someone who was considered strong, brave, or had lion-like qualities.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LEV can be found in the Velvet Book, a 15th-century register of Russian nobility. It mentions a certain Fyodor Lvovich Lev, who lived in the late 14th century. The patronymic form "Lvovich" indicates that his father's name was Lev.

In the 16th century, the LEV surname appeared in various Russian chronicles and documents. One notable figure was Ivan Lvov (1537-1586), a military commander and voivode (governor) who played a significant role in the Russian conquest of Siberia.

The surname LEV also has a long history in Ukraine. In the 17th century, a prominent Ukrainian Cossack leader named Maksym Lev (1619-1668) fought against Polish rule and led several uprisings for Ukrainian independence.

Another notable figure was Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910), the renowned Russian novelist and philosopher who authored masterpieces such as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". His full name was Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, with LEV being his given name.

In the 20th century, Lev Landau (1908-1968) was a prominent Soviet physicist who made significant contributions to the field of theoretical physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1962 for his pioneering work on condensed matter theory.

Throughout its history, the surname LEV has been associated with various place names and older spellings. For instance, in some regions of Russia, it was sometimes spelled as "Lev" or "Lew". Additionally, there are villages and settlements in Russia and Ukraine with names derived from the root "lev", such as Lvovka and Lvovichi.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lev

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

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

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

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