2000
#12,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,321
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Lis
A surname of French origin, derived from the French word "lis," meaning "lily," likely referring to one who lived near lilies.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,576 Americans carry the last name Lis. That puts it at #13,056 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,057 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lis 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,057
Census rank
#13,056
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,246 bearers of the surname Lis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13056th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lis
Among Census respondents with the surname Lis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lis 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 Lis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,066
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 40
- Two or more races1.3% · 29
- Black or African American1.1% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lis
Lis 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
#13,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,361
+40 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 714 places
2020
#13,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,246
-115 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,288 | 2,321 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,002 | 2,361 | 0.80 | +40 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 714 places |
| 2020 | #13,056 | 2,246 | 0.75 | -115 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 54 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 Lis 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 | #13,002 | #13,056 | -0.4% |
| Count | 2,361 | 2,246 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.75 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lis bearers went from 2,361 to 2,246 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,002 to #13,056.
FAQ
Lis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lis?
Name Census estimates that about 2,576 living Americans carry the surname Lis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,057 residents.
How common is Lis?
Lis ranks #13,056 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,246 people with the surname Lis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,576), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lis.
Has Lis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lis went from 2,361 recorded bearers to 2,246. That is a decrease of 115 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,002 to #13,056.
What does the Census say about the background of Lis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Lis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,066 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (3.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Lis (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 Lis mean?
A surname of French origin, derived from the French word "lis," meaning "lily," likely referring to one who lived near lilies. 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 Lis (0.75 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 Lis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.