2010
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lievers
A Germanic surname derived from the word "lief" meaning "dear" or "beloved".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Lievers. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lievers 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Lievers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lievers, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lievers
The surname Lievers is of Dutch origin, first recorded in the early 16th century in the regions of Friesland and Groningen in the northern Netherlands. It is believed to be derived from the Middle Dutch word "lief," meaning "dear" or "beloved," potentially referring to an endearing nickname or personal characteristic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lievers can be found in the Frisian town of Leeuwarden, where a merchant named Pieter Lievers is mentioned in a trade register from 1524. In the nearby city of Groningen, records show a Geert Lievers who served as a municipal official in the late 1500s.
During the 17th century, the name Lievers began to spread across the Netherlands and into neighboring regions. Notable individuals include Jan Lievers, a renowned painter from Amsterdam who lived from 1610 to 1672, and Hendrick Lievers, a prominent scholar and theologian from Utrecht, born in 1628.
As the Dutch Empire expanded its global reach, the Lievers surname found its way to various colonies and settlements. In 1678, a man named Adriaen Lievers is recorded as one of the first settlers in the Dutch Cape Colony, now part of South Africa.
In the 18th century, the Lievers name gained prominence in the Netherlands with the birth of Jacob Lievers, a celebrated poet and playwright from Rotterdam (1707-1783). His works, including the famous play "De Gelderse Maagd" (The Maiden of Gelderland), were widely acclaimed and helped establish the Lievers family as a respected literary lineage.
Another notable figure was Cornelis Lievers, a Dutch naval officer and explorer who served in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1755 to 1780. His detailed journals and maps of the region contributed significantly to the expansion of Dutch colonial interests in Southeast Asia.
As the centuries progressed, the Lievers surname continued to spread across Europe and beyond, with various spellings and variations emerging in different regions. While the name may have evolved over time, its origins can be traced back to the endearing Middle Dutch word "lief," a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the Netherlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lievers
Among Census respondents with the surname Lievers, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lievers 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 Lievers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.8% · 79
- Black or African American20.9% · 23
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lievers
Lievers appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-12 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 12,119 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 Lievers 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 | #137,327 | #149,446 | -8.8% |
| Count | 122 | 110 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lievers bearers went from 122 to 110 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 12,119 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #149,446.
FAQ
Lievers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lievers?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Lievers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Lievers?
Lievers ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Lievers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Lievers.
Has Lievers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lievers went from 122 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Lievers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lievers, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lievers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (79 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lievers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.8%), Black (20.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lievers (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 Lievers mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the word "lief" meaning "dear" or "beloved". 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 Lievers (0.04 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 Lievers?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.