2000
#2,295
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,501
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.38
Uncommon Last name
Lorenz
A surname of Latin origin meaning "from Laurentum," an ancient Italian city, or referring to a person from Lorraine, France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,954 Americans carry the last name Lorenz. That puts it at #2,530 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,484 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lorenz 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 Lorenz with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,484
Census rank
#2,530
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,913 bearers of the surname Lorenz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2530th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lorenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lorenz
The surname Lorenz originated in Germany and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the ancient Germanic name Laurentius, which in turn comes from the Latin name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" or "laurel plant." Laurentum was an ancient town in Italy, and the laurel plant was a symbol of victory and honor in ancient Rome.
The name first appeared in written records in the 12th century as Lorentz or Lorenzer. It was initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, but over time it spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lorenz can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, which mentions a certain "Henricus Lorenz" in the year 1230.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Matricula Nationis Germanicae, a register of German students at the University of Paris, with the entry "Petrus Lorencz de Nuremberga" (Peter Lorenz of Nuremberg) in 1389.
The Lorenz name was also present in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Weingartensis, a record of donations to the Weingarten Abbey in southwestern Germany, which listed a "Chunradus Lorenz" in 1362.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Lorenz, including:
1. Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989), an Austrian zoologist and ethologist who co-founded the field of ethology and is considered one of the founders of modern animal behavior studies.
2. Edward N. Lorenz (1917-2008), an American mathematician and meteorologist who pioneered the study of chaos theory and is best known for his discovery of the "butterfly effect."
3. Amanda Lorenz (born 1986), an American professional softball player who played for the United States national softball team and won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
4. Joseph Lorenz (1887-1975), an American football player and coach who served as the head coach for the University of Dayton and Ohio State University teams in the early 20th century.
5. Reinhold Lorenz (1856-1938), a German architect and urban planner who designed numerous notable buildings in Leipzig, including the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorenz
Among Census respondents with the surname Lorenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lorenz 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 Lorenz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 12,625
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 624
- Two or more races2.9% · 409
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 137
- Black or African American0.5% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lorenz
Lorenz 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
#2,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,528
+27 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 4.93
Rank movement Down 188 places
2020
#2,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,913
-615 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 4.65
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,295 | 14,501 | 5.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,483 | 14,528 | 4.93 | +27 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 188 places |
| 2020 | #2,530 | 13,913 | 4.65 | -615 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 47 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 Lorenz 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 | #2,483 | #2,530 | -1.9% |
| Count | 14,528 | 13,913 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.93 | 4.65 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lorenz bearers went from 14,528 to 13,913 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,483 to #2,530.
FAQ
Lorenz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lorenz?
Name Census estimates that about 15,954 living Americans carry the surname Lorenz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,484 residents.
How common is Lorenz?
Lorenz ranks #2,530 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,913 people with the surname Lorenz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,954), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Lorenz.
Has Lorenz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lorenz went from 14,528 recorded bearers to 13,913. That is a decrease of 615 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,483 to #2,530.
What does the Census say about the background of Lorenz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lorenz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (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 Lorenz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (12,625 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lorenz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (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 Lorenz (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 Lorenz mean?
A surname of Latin origin meaning "from Laurentum," an ancient Italian city, or referring to a person from Lorraine, France. 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 Lorenz (4.65 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 share the surname Lorenz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.