2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lisius
A variation of the surname Lissius or Lissio, derived from the Greek root lyssa meaning frenzy or madness.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Lisius. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lisius 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Lisius in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lisius, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lisius
The surname Lisius originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "lis" which means "lily" or "fleur-de-lis". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a field of lilies or had the fleur-de-lis symbol on their coat of arms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a registry of births in the city of Amsterdam from the year 1572, where a child named Pieter Lisius was born to parents Jan and Maria Lisius. This suggests the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various records from the Dutch East Indies, which was a Dutch colony at the time. A merchant named Hendrick Lisius is listed as having traded spices and other goods in the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in the 1640s.
The Lisius name also has a connection to the Netherlands' maritime history. In 1697, a ship called the "Lisius" was built in the Dutch city of Dordrecht and used for trade and exploration voyages.
One notable bearer of the Lisius name was Adriaan Lisius (1592-1668), a Dutch painter and engraver who was part of the Utrecht Caravaggisti movement. His works often depicted religious scenes and can be found in museums across Europe.
Another individual of historical significance was Johannes Lisius (1670-1747), a Dutch theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Leiden. He wrote several influential works on natural philosophy and religious ethics.
In the 19th century, a Belgian mathematician named Jean-Baptiste Lisius (1815-1879) made contributions to the field of analytical geometry and published papers on the theory of equations.
While the name may have originated in the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, its roots can be traced back to the Dutch-speaking regions and the name's connection to the lily flower and fleur-de-lis symbol.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lisius
Among Census respondents with the surname Lisius, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lisius 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 Lisius surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 102
- Black or African American5.9% · 7
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lisius
Lisius 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-5 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,990 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-8 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,740 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 11,990 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 9,740 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 Lisius 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 | #133,048 | #142,788 | -7.3% |
| Count | 127 | 119 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lisius bearers went from 127 to 119 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 9,740 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #142,788.
FAQ
Lisius surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lisius?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Lisius. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Lisius?
Lisius ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Lisius. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Lisius.
Has Lisius become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lisius went from 127 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Lisius?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lisius, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Lisius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lisius appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.7%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Lisius (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 Lisius mean?
A variation of the surname Lissius or Lissio, derived from the Greek root lyssa meaning frenzy or madness. 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 Lisius (0.04 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 common is the surname Lisius?
See how many Americans have the surname Lisius on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.