2000
#11,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,571
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Loveday
A surname derived from an Old English nickname for an affectionate or amiable person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,894 Americans carry the last name Loveday. That puts it at #11,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loveday 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 Loveday with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,436
Census rank
#11,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,524 bearers of the surname Loveday in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loveday, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loveday
The surname LOVEDAY is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "lufu" meaning love and "daeg" meaning day, potentially referring to a place where lovers or their families gathered or met.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the LOVEDAY surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it appears as "Louedaye". This suggests the name was already established by the 13th century in that region.
The LOVEDAY name has also been traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a place name "Louededay" in Wiltshire. This reinforces the locational origin theory and indicates the surname's deep roots in English history.
Notable historical figures who bore the LOVEDAY surname include Sir John Loveday (c. 1610-1655), an English landowner and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War. Another was Richard Loveday (1605-1677), an English churchman who served as Archdeacon of Oxford.
In the 17th century, Benjamin Loveday (1619-1677) was a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as Recorder of London. His son, Roger Loveday (1655-1718), followed in his footsteps and became a respected barrister.
Moving into the 18th century, John Loveday (1711-1789) was a well-known English antiquary and topographer who published several works on the history and antiquities of Oxfordshire and surrounding areas.
Over the centuries, variations in spelling have included Loveday, Lovyday, Lovedaye, and Luveday, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional dialects. The name has also been associated with various place names such as Loveday Hill in Wiltshire and Loveday Farm in Oxfordshire, further cementing its geographical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loveday
Among Census respondents with the surname Loveday, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Loveday 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 Loveday surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 2,248
- Two or more races3.8% · 95
- Black or African American3.1% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loveday
Loveday 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
#11,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,616
+45 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 669 places
2020
#11,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,524
-92 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,283 | 2,571 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,952 | 2,616 | 0.89 | +45 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 669 places |
| 2020 | #11,856 | 2,524 | 0.84 | -92 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 96 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 Loveday 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 | #11,952 | #11,856 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,616 | 2,524 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.84 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loveday bearers went from 2,616 to 2,524 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,952 to #11,856.
FAQ
Loveday surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loveday?
Name Census estimates that about 2,894 living Americans carry the surname Loveday. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,436 residents.
How common is Loveday?
Loveday ranks #11,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,524 people with the surname Loveday. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,894), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Loveday.
Has Loveday become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loveday went from 2,616 recorded bearers to 2,524. That is a decrease of 92 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,952 to #11,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Loveday?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loveday, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%). 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 Loveday in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (2,248 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loveday appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Black (3.1%). 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 Loveday (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 Loveday mean?
A surname derived from an Old English nickname for an affectionate or amiable person. 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 Loveday (0.84 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 Loveday?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.