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

Lovelace, 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 Lovelace surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lovelace in America

Lovelace is the 2613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lovelace surname appeared 13,787 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Lovelace.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lovelace 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 Lovelace

The surname Lovelace originated in England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "luf" meaning love and "leac" meaning plant or garden, referring to someone who lived near or maintained a lovage garden. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was as "de Lovelache" in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1186.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Richard de Lovelace, who was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. The Lovelace family held estates in several counties including Kent, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire. The name was also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Loveraz" in the county of Wiltshire.

In the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form of Lovelace. Notable individuals with this surname include Richard Lovelace (1617-1657), an English poet and cavalier. He is best known for his poems "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars" and "To Althea, from Prison". Another notable figure was John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace (1672-1709), who served as a member of parliament and was involved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

In the 18th century, the Lovelace family continued to hold significant land and properties in Kent. Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), was an English mathematician and writer, best known for her work on the Analytical Engine and her collaboration with Charles Babbage. She is considered a pioneer of computer programming and is sometimes referred to as the first computer programmer.

Another notable Lovelace was Ralph Lovelace, 2nd Earl of Lovelace (1839-1906), who was a British peer and served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. William Lovelace Gilbert (1866-1953) was an American composer and musician, known for his compositions for bands and orchestras.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lovelace

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

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

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

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