2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lienard
A regional surname derived from the Germanic personal name Leonhard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Lienard. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lienard 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Lienard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lienard, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lienard
The surname Lienard originated in France and dates back several centuries. It is derived from the Old French word "liennart" which means "lion-like" or "brave as a lion." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who displayed courage or strength akin to a lion.
The earliest known record of the Lienard surname can be traced back to the 12th century in the Normandy region of France. It appears in various medieval documents and registers from that time period, with spellings such as Liénart, Lienart, and Lennart.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Gilles Lienard was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Rouen. He is mentioned in several property records and municipal archives from that era.
The name Lienard also has ties to the village of Liénard, located in the department of Calvados in northwestern France. It is believed that some early bearers of the surname may have originated from or resided in this area, leading to their adoption of the place name as a surname.
During the 16th century, a man named Jean Lienard (born in 1532) was a skilled artisan and woodcarver who worked on the construction of several churches and cathedrals in the region of Picardy.
Another historical figure with the Lienard surname was Pierre Lienard (1598-1677), a French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 18th century, a French military officer named François-Xavier Lienard (1724-1796) served in the Seven Years' War and later became a brigadier general during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Over time, the Lienard surname spread beyond France to other parts of Europe and eventually to other continents through migration and emigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in northern France, where it emerged as a descriptive surname reflecting the perceived characteristics of bravery and lion-like qualities of its early bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lienard
Among Census respondents with the surname Lienard, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Lienard 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 Lienard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 98
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lienard
Lienard 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-8 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,932 places
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-8 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,500 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 17,932 places |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 2,500 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 Lienard 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 | #153,769 | #156,269 | -1.6% |
| Count | 106 | 98 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lienard bearers went from 106 to 98 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 2,500 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #156,269.
FAQ
Lienard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lienard?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Lienard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Lienard?
Lienard ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 98 people with the surname Lienard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Lienard.
Has Lienard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lienard went from 106 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Lienard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lienard, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Lienard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lienard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Lienard (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 Lienard mean?
A regional surname derived from the Germanic personal name Leonhard. 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 Lienard (0.03 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 Lienard?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Lienard, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.