2000
#9,636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,096
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Lewellen
Welsh habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "elm grove" or "elm-tree grove."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,436 Americans carry the last name Lewellen. That puts it at #10,235 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,754 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lewellen 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
3.4K
1 in 99,754
Census rank
#10,235
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,996 bearers of the surname Lewellen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10235th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewellen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lewellen
The surname Lewellen has its origins traced back to Wales, deriving from the Welsh personal name Llewelyn. This name is composed of two elements: "llyw" meaning leader and "llin" meaning line or lineage, effectively translating to "leader of the line." Historically, the name Llewelyn was widely associated with the line of Welsh princes.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lewellen can be found in medieval Welsh records, often appearing as Llywelyn or variations like Llewellyn. One notable example is Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, also known as Llywelyn the Last, who was the last sovereign Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England in the late 13th century.
As the surname spread throughout Wales and into England, various spellings emerged, including Lewellen, Llewellin, and Llewellen. One of the earliest references to the anglicized spelling Lewellen can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1201, which mention a Robert Lewellen.
The surname Lewellen has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure is Sir Gruffydd Llywelyn (c. 1330-1384), a Welsh nobleman and military leader who fought alongside the Black Prince during the Hundred Years' War. Another prominent bearer of the name was Morgan Lewellen (c. 1619-1692), a Welsh clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bangor and later as the Bishop of St. Asaph.
In the United States, the surname Lewellen can be traced back to Welsh immigrants who arrived in the colonial era. One notable American with this surname was John Lewellen (1786-1865), a pioneer and early settler in Illinois. He established the town of Lewellen, which was later renamed Lewiston.
Another prominent figure with the Lewellen surname was Daniel Blackwell Lewellen (1834-1919), a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. He served as a captain in the 10th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and later became a prominent lawyer and judge in Tennessee.
Lastly, a more recent bearer of the Lewellen surname is Noel Lloyd Lewellen (1915-2000), an American physicist and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II and later worked on the Apollo space program.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lewellen
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewellen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lewellen 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 Lewellen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 2,675
- Two or more races4.4% · 133
- Black or African American2.8% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lewellen
Lewellen 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
#10,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,199
+103 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 439 places
2020
#10,235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,996
-203 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 160 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,636 | 3,096 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,075 | 3,199 | 1.08 | +103 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 439 places |
| 2020 | #10,235 | 2,996 | 1.00 | -203 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 160 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 Lewellen 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 | #10,075 | #10,235 | -1.6% |
| Count | 3,199 | 2,996 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 1.00 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lewellen bearers went from 3,199 to 2,996 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 160 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,075 to #10,235.
FAQ
Lewellen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lewellen?
Name Census estimates that about 3,436 living Americans carry the surname Lewellen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,754 residents.
How common is Lewellen?
Lewellen ranks #10,235 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,996 people with the surname Lewellen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,436), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Lewellen.
Has Lewellen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lewellen went from 3,199 recorded bearers to 2,996. That is a decrease of 203 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,075 to #10,235.
What does the Census say about the background of Lewellen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewellen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Black (2.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lewellen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (2,675 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lewellen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Black (2.8%). 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 Lewellen (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 Lewellen mean?
Welsh habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "elm grove" or "elm-tree grove." 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 Lewellen (1.00 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 surname Lewellen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.