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

Lillis, 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 Lillis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lillis in America

Lillis is the 13707th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lillis surname appeared 2,208 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 Lillis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lillis 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 Lillis

The surname Lillis is believed to have originated in Ireland. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name O'Lileith, which means "descendant of Lilith." The name Lilith is derived from the Hebrew word "lilith," meaning "night creature" or "night monster." The name O'Lileith dates back to medieval times, and it is thought to have been associated with families from counties Galway and Mayo in the western part of Ireland.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Lillis can be traced back to the 16th century. One of the earliest known references is in the Fiants of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I, which mentions a John O'Lileith in County Mayo in 1585. Another early record is from the 1659 Census of Ireland, which lists a few individuals with the surname Lillis residing in counties Galway and Mayo.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Lillis appeared in various historical records, such as the Hearth Money Rolls and the Census of Elphin. During this time, the name was also sometimes spelled as Lilies or Lilles. Some notable individuals with the surname Lillis from this period include Patrick Lillis, a Catholic landowner from County Mayo who was involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, and Edmond Lillis, a lawyer and writer from County Galway who lived in the early 18th century.

In the 19th century, the surname Lillis became more widely dispersed throughout Ireland and beyond. One notable figure was Michael Lillis (1807-1871), a Catholic priest and educator from County Mayo who served as the Bishop of Leavenworth, Kansas, in the United States. Another was John Lillis (1835-1915), a businessman and philanthropist from County Galway who contributed significantly to the development of early aviation in Ireland.

Other individuals of note with the surname Lillis include Francis Lillis (1862-1939), an Irish-American judge and politician from New York, and Patrick Lillis (1905-1981), an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and businessman who served as a member of the Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament) for several terms.

While the surname Lillis is still most commonly found in Ireland, particularly in counties Galway and Mayo, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to Irish emigration over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lillis

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

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

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

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