2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lipetz
A habitational name from any of several places named Lipetsk in Russia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Lipetz. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lipetz 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Lipetz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lipetz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lipetz
The surname Lipetz has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the region that is now modern-day Poland and Belarus. It emerged in the 16th century as a topographic name, derived from the Slavic word "lipa," meaning "linden tree." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near a linden tree or a grove of linden trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lipetz can be found in the Metryka Litewska, a collection of official documents from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which dates back to the 15th century. In these records, the name is spelled "Lipiec," which is a variation of the more modern "Lipetz."
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Lipetz was closely associated with the town of Lipsk (now known as Liepāja) in modern-day Latvia. It is believed that many individuals bearing this surname may have originated from or lived in this area.
Notable individuals with the surname Lipetz include Yakov Lipetz (1867-1942), a Russian-born American artist and illustrator known for his work in the early 20th century. Another prominent figure was Mikhail Lipetz (1909-1983), a Soviet writer and journalist who covered World War II and wrote extensively about the Eastern Front.
In the realm of academia, Isaak Lipetz (1909-1993) was a prominent Russian-American mathematician and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He made significant contributions to the field of differential equations and mathematical analysis.
The name Lipetz has also been associated with the Jewish diaspora, as many individuals bearing this surname were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. One such figure was Nehemiah Lipetz (1913-1989), a Polish-born Israeli writer and translator who played a crucial role in preserving and promoting Yiddish literature.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning Liepāja, the modern-day city in Latvia that was once known as Lipsk. This coastal city has a rich history dating back to the 13th century and was an important trading center during the Hanseatic League era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lipetz
Among Census respondents with the surname Lipetz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lipetz 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 Lipetz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lipetz
Lipetz 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+16 bearers (+14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,227 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-27 bearers (-20.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 23,572 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 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+14.0%) | Up 5,227 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -27 bearers (-20.8%) | Down 23,572 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 Lipetz 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 | #130,610 | #154,182 | -18.0% |
| Count | 130 | 103 | -20.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lipetz bearers went from 130 to 103 (-20.8% change). The surname moved down 23,572 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #154,182.
FAQ
Lipetz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lipetz?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Lipetz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Lipetz?
Lipetz ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Lipetz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Lipetz.
Has Lipetz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lipetz went from 130 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 27 (-20.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Lipetz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lipetz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Lipetz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lipetz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Lipetz (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 Lipetz mean?
A habitational name from any of several places named Lipetsk in Russia. 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 Lipetz (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 many people share the surname Lipetz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.