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

Lewellyn, 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 Lewellyn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lewellyn in America

Lewellyn is the 17823rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lewellyn surname appeared 1,570 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lewellyn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lewellyn 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 Lewellyn

The surname Lewellyn is of Welsh origin, derived from the personal name Llywelyn, which itself comes from the Welsh elements "llu" meaning "host" or "army" and "gwy(d)dden" meaning "leader" or "chief." The name can be traced back to the early medieval period in Wales.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Leulen" and "Leuuene." This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence in Wales by the late 11th century.

The surname is closely associated with the Principality of Gwynedd in northwest Wales, where several Welsh princes bore the name Llywelyn, including Llywelyn the Great (c. 1173-1240), who ruled over a large part of Wales and is considered one of the most influential Welsh rulers of the Middle Ages.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various spellings, such as "Llewelyn," "Llywelyn," and "Leuelyn," in various Welsh chronicles and legal documents. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223-1282), the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England.

As the surname spread beyond Wales, it underwent further variations in spelling, including "Lewellin," "Lewellyn," and "Llewellyn." In the 16th century, the English playwright Thomas Dekker (c. 1572-1632) used the name "Lewellyn" in his play "The Honest Whore."

Other notable historical figures with the surname Lewellyn include Sir John Lewellyn (c. 1619-1675), a Welsh lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War, and David Lewellyn (1707-1786), a Welsh clergyman and writer who published several works on Welsh history and antiquities.

Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, we find the Welsh artist and engraver William Lewellyn (1811-1882), known for his engravings of Welsh landscapes and portraits, and the Welsh-American philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952), whose full name was John Lewellyn Dewey.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lewellyn

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

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

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

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