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

Llewellyn, 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 Llewellyn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Llewellyn in America

Llewellyn is the 5807th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Llewellyn surname appeared 5,955 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Llewellyn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Llewellyn 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 Llewellyn

The surname Llewellyn has its origins in Wales, dating back to the 6th century. It is a Welsh name derived from the words "llyw" meaning leader and "llyn" meaning lake or pool, essentially translating to "leader by the lake".

The name was initially associated with the ancient British kingdom of Powys, located in eastern Wales. Historical records indicate that Llewellyn was a popular name among the ruling dynasties of this region during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest known references to the name Llewellyn can be found in the Welsh chronicle, Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes), which mentions Llewellyn ap Gruffydd (c. 1223-1282), a prominent Welsh ruler who led a revolt against the English and was briefly recognized as the Prince of Wales.

Another notable figure bearing the surname Llewellyn was David Llewellyn (c. 1292-1349), a Welsh clergyman who served as the Bishop of St. Asaph from 1347 until his death. His name appears in various ecclesiastical records from the 14th century.

In the 15th century, the Llewellyn surname can be found in the records of Glamorgan, a historic county in southern Wales. One prominent individual from this area was Sir Morgan Llewellyn (c. 1440-1504), a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses.

The surname Llewellyn has also been associated with several place names in Wales, such as Llewellyn's Green in Monmouthshire and Llewellyn's Hall in Glamorgan. These place names likely originated from historical figures or landowners bearing the Llewellyn name.

Throughout history, the surname Llewellyn has been spelled in various ways, including Llywelyn, Llewelyn, and Llewellin, reflecting the evolution of the Welsh language and regional variations in pronunciation.

Other notable individuals with the surname Llewellyn include Sir Dillwyn Llewellyn (1826-1903), a Welsh industrialist and philanthropist, and William Llewellyn (1800-1875), a Welsh lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Llewellyn

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

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

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

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