2000
#9,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,184
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Lore
An English occupational surname referring to someone who recited poems or stories.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,022 Americans carry the last name Lore. That puts it at #11,436 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lore 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 Lore with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,420
Census rank
#11,436
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,635 bearers of the surname Lore in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11436th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lore, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lore
The surname Lore has its roots in Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated from the German word "lor", which means "laurel" or "crown of leaves". This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with people who were involved in the cultivation or trade of laurel plants, or it could have been a descriptive name given to someone who wore a laurel crown or wreath.
The earliest known record of the surname Lore can be found in the medieval German documents from the 13th century, where it was spelled as "Lore" or "Lör". At that time, the name was primarily concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where many families with this surname lived and worked.
In the 14th century, the surname Lore appeared in the Würzburg Codex, an important document containing legal records and land transactions from the city of Würzburg in Germany. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region during that period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Lore was Johann Lore, a German merchant and trader who lived in the city of Nuremberg in the late 15th century. He is mentioned in several historical records from that time, suggesting that the family had achieved a certain level of prominence in the local community.
Another notable figure with the surname Lore was Heinrich Lore, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his religious paintings and worked primarily in the cities of Augsburg and Munich. Some of his works can still be found in various churches and museums across Germany.
In the 17th century, the surname Lore was also found in the records of the town of Mühlhausen, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. One of the earliest recorded inhabitants with this name was Hans Lore, a miller who owned a flour mill in the town.
As the centuries passed, the surname Lore spread to other parts of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, and even France, where it was sometimes spelled as "Loré" or "Lorée". However, the name remained most prevalent in Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lore include Johann Georg Lore (1715-1789), a German theologian and philosopher from Saxony, and Carl Lore (1860-1928), a German-born American artist and illustrator who lived in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lore
Among Census respondents with the surname Lore, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lore 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 Lore surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,366
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 97
- Two or more races2.2% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 52
- Black or African American1.8% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lore
Lore 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
#9,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,248
+64 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 548 places
2020
#11,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,635
-613 bearers (-18.9%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,504 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,384 | 3,184 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,932 | 3,248 | 1.10 | +64 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 548 places |
| 2020 | #11,436 | 2,635 | 0.88 | -613 bearers (-18.9%) | Down 1,504 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 Lore 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 | #9,932 | #11,436 | -15.1% |
| Count | 3,248 | 2,635 | -18.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 0.88 | -19.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lore bearers went from 3,248 to 2,635 (-18.9% change). The surname moved down 1,504 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,932 to #11,436.
FAQ
Lore surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lore?
Name Census estimates that about 3,022 living Americans carry the surname Lore. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,420 residents.
How common is Lore?
Lore ranks #11,436 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,635 people with the surname Lore. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,022), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Lore.
Has Lore become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lore went from 3,248 recorded bearers to 2,635. That is a decrease of 613 (-18.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,932 to #11,436.
What does the Census say about the background of Lore?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lore, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Lore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,366 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lore appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Lore (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 Lore mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who recited poems or stories. 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 Lore (0.88 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 Americans have the surname Lore?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.