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

Lionel, 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 Lionel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lionel in America

Lionel is the 93921st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lionel surname appeared 195 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lionel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lionel 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 Lionel

The surname Lionel is of French origin, derived from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, which itself comes from the elements "lewo" meaning "lion" and "hard" meaning "hardy" or "brave." Its earliest recorded use as a surname dates back to the 11th century in the Normandy region of France.

In the Middle Ages, the name Lionel was particularly popular among the Norman nobility. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was Lionel de Antreaux, a Norman knight who fought in the First Crusade in the late 11th century.

The Lionel surname is believed to have been introduced to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, includes several entries for individuals with the name Lionel or variations such as Lyonel or Leonel.

In the 13th century, Lionel of Antwerp (c. 1209-1266), also known as Lionel the Englishman, was a prominent Franciscan friar and philosopher. He is notable for being one of the first scholars to introduce the works of Aristotle to the universities of Western Europe.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Lionel of Antwerp (1338-1368), the third son of King Edward III of England. He was created Duke of Clarence in 1362 and played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War against France.

During the Renaissance period, Lionel Woodville (c. 1446-1484) was a prominent English courtier and diplomat who served as the Bishop of Salisbury and Lord Chancellor of England under King Edward IV.

In the 17th century, Lionel Cranfield (1575-1645) was an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Treasurer and Chief Minister to King James I.

The Lionel surname has also been associated with several notable figures in the arts and sciences. For example, Lionel Trilling (1905-1975) was an influential American literary critic and teacher, while Lionel Tertis (1876-1975) was a renowned English violist and composer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lionel

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!