2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lockemy
A surname derived from a place name referring to a locality or homestead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Lockemy. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lockemy 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Lockemy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lockemy, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lockemy
The surname Lockemy originated in England during the late medieval period, deriving from the Old English words "loc" meaning an enclosure or lock, and "hæmed" meaning a homestead or dwelling. It likely referred to someone who lived in an enclosed or fortified homestead. The earliest known spelling variants include Lockehame, Lokehame, and Lockham, with the modern form emerging in the 16th century.
Records suggest the name first appeared in the county of Northamptonshire, particularly around the village of Lokeham near Daventry. One of the earliest documented references is found in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls for Northamptonshire, which list a John de Lokeham as a taxpayer.
The Lockemy surname is also mentioned in several historical manuscripts, including the 14th-century Wakefield Manor Court Rolls and the 15th-century Paston Letters. In the latter, a Richard Lokehame is mentioned as a servant to John Paston, a prominent Norfolk landowner.
Notable individuals with the Lockemy surname throughout history include Thomas Lockemy (c.1540-1621), a wealthy merchant and landowner in Bristol, and Elizabeth Lockemy (1658-1732), a renowned herbalist and midwife from Cambridgeshire. In the 18th century, John Lockemy (1712-1789) was a renowned clockmaker and inventor from Yorkshire.
During the 19th century, the Lockemy name gained prominence through the exploits of William Lockemy (1823-1891), a British explorer and adventurer who traveled extensively in Africa and Asia. Additionally, Emily Lockemy (1845-1923) was a pioneering female physician and advocate for women's rights in London.
While the name Lockemy has roots in medieval England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the enclosed homesteads of ancient Northamptonshire and the surrounding regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lockemy
Among Census respondents with the surname Lockemy, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lockemy 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 Lockemy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 89
- Two or more races7.8% · 8
- Black or African American2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lockemy
Lockemy appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 1,289 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 Lockemy 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 | #156,044 | #154,755 | 0.8% |
| Count | 104 | 102 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lockemy bearers went from 104 to 102 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 1,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #154,755.
FAQ
Lockemy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lockemy?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Lockemy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Lockemy?
Lockemy ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Lockemy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Lockemy.
Has Lockemy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lockemy went from 104 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Lockemy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lockemy, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Lockemy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lockemy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Two or More Races (7.8%), Black (2.9%). 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 Lockemy (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 Lockemy mean?
A surname derived from a place name referring to a locality or homestead. 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 Lockemy (0.03 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 have the surname Lockemy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.