2000
#13,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,022
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Levis
Derived from the given name Levi, indicating Levite ancestry, or referring to someone from the French town of Lévis.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,956 Americans carry the last name Levis. That puts it at #16,369 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 175,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Levis 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 Levis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 175,232
Census rank
#16,369
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,706 bearers of the surname Levis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16369th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Levis, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Black (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Levis
The surname Levis has its origins in France and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word 'levis', meaning 'levite' or a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, who were traditionally associated with religious duties and the priesthood.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval French records and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a Robert Levis in a charter from the year 1210, relating to the Cistercian abbey of Vaux-de-Cernay in northern France.
During the Middle Ages, the name was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of France, including Normandy and Brittany. It is also thought to have been adopted by some individuals of Jewish descent, who may have taken on the name as a reference to their ancestral tribe.
Over time, the name spread to other parts of Europe, including England, where it underwent various spelling variations such as Levi, Levy, and Levey. One of the earliest recorded English bearers of the name was William Levi, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199.
Notable historical figures with the surname Levis include:
1. Jacques de Levis, a French nobleman and military leader who fought in the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century.
2. Philippe de Levis, a French cardinal and diplomat who lived from 1436 to 1537.
3. Gilles de Levis, a French knight and courtier who served under King Charles VII in the 15th century.
4. Sir Lewis Levi, an English merchant and financier who lived from 1619 to 1701 and was instrumental in funding the British Empire's expansion.
5. Isaac Adolphe Crémieux, a French lawyer and statesman of Jewish descent who lived from 1796 to 1880 and advocated for Jewish emancipation in France.
The surname Levis has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Lévis, a city in Quebec, Canada, which was named after François-Gaston, Duke of Levis, a French nobleman from the 17th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Levis
Among Census respondents with the surname Levis, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Black (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Levis 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 Levis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 1,402
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 131
- Black or African American6.5% · 111
- Two or more races2.3% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Levis
Levis 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
#14,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,003
-19 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 1,064 places
2020
#16,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,706
-297 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 1,563 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,742 | 2,022 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,806 | 2,003 | 0.68 | -19 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,064 places |
| 2020 | #16,369 | 1,706 | 0.57 | -297 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 1,563 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 Levis 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 | #14,806 | #16,369 | -10.6% |
| Count | 2,003 | 1,706 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.57 | -16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Levis bearers went from 2,003 to 1,706 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 1,563 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,806 to #16,369.
FAQ
Levis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Levis?
Name Census estimates that about 1,956 living Americans carry the surname Levis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 175,232 residents.
How common is Levis?
Levis ranks #16,369 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,706 people with the surname Levis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,956), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Levis.
Has Levis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Levis went from 2,003 recorded bearers to 1,706. That is a decrease of 297 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,806 to #16,369.
What does the Census say about the background of Levis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Levis, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Black (6.5%). 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 Levis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (1,402 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Levis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Hispanic (7.7%), Black (6.5%). 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 Levis (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 Levis mean?
Derived from the given name Levi, indicating Levite ancestry, or referring to someone from the French town of Lévis. 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 Levis (0.57 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 Levis?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Levis at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.