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

Lively, 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 Lively surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lively in America

Lively is the 3279th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lively surname appeared 11,026 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Lively.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lively 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 Lively

The surname Lively is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "lif" meaning "life" or "lively", referring to someone with a spirited or energetic demeanor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Lifwine is mentioned as holding land in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the name, or a variant of it, existed in England before the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, the name is found in various records with spellings such as Liflie, Livelie, and Lyvely. These variations likely arose due to the lack of standardized spelling during this time period.

The name Lively can also be traced back to certain place names in England, such as Lively in Shropshire and Lively Green in Hampshire. It is possible that some individuals adopted the surname based on their association with these localities.

Notable individuals who bore the surname Lively include Sir Michael Lively (c. 1570-1628), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. Another prominent figure was John Lively (1692-1766), a British architect and surveyor who designed several churches and country houses in the Georgian style.

In the 18th century, Edward Lively (1723-1808) was a renowned English engraver and printmaker, known for his intricate illustrations of landscapes and architectural subjects. His works are held in collections at the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is found in the records of William Lively, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Another early American bearer of the name was Thomas Lively, who settled in Maryland in the late 17th century.

During the 19th century, John Lively (1825-1892) was a notable American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lively

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

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

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

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