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

Lis, 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 Lis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lis in America

Lis is the 13002nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lis surname appeared 2,361 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 Lis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lis 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 Lis

The surname Lis has its origins in Poland, where it first appeared in the 11th century. It is derived from the Polish word "lisi," which means "fox-like" or "cunning." This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname to someone perceived as clever or crafty.

In the early days, the name was often spelled as "Lys" or "Lyss," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common before standardization. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th-century "Liber Beneficiorum" (Book of Benefices), a manuscript detailing church records in the Krakow region.

The Lis surname is also associated with several place names in Poland, such as the village of Lisy and the town of Lisie Pole. These place names may have contributed to the widespread adoption of the surname in those areas.

One notable figure bearing the Lis surname was Stanisław Lis (1550-1623), a Polish nobleman and military commander who served under King Sigismund III Vasa. He played a crucial role in defending Poland against the Swedish invasion during the Polish-Swedish War.

Another prominent individual was Jan Lis (1671-1736), a Polish Jesuit priest and historian who authored several works on the history of Poland and the Catholic Church. His most famous work, "De Origine et Rebus Gestis Polonorum" (On the Origin and Deeds of the Poles), was published in 1719.

In the 19th century, Karol Lis (1811-1876) was a Polish artist renowned for his landscape paintings. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and later became a professor there, influencing generations of Polish painters.

Aleksander Lis (1857-1918) was a Polish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of the telephone. He worked closely with Alexander Graham Bell and was instrumental in introducing the telephone to Poland.

Finally, Maria Lis (1923-2018) was a Polish writer and Holocaust survivor. Her memoir, "Landscape of a Lost Childhood," recounted her experiences as a child during World War II and the Nazi occupation of Poland. It became a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lis

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

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

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

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