2000
#2,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,359
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.95
Uncommon Last name
Lovelace
An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold lace.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,301 Americans carry the last name Lovelace. That puts it at #2,640 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,401 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lovelace 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 Lovelace with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,401
Census rank
#2,640
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,343 bearers of the surname Lovelace in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2640th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovelace, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lovelace
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovelace, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lovelace 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 Lovelace surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 9,041
- Black or African American22.8% · 3,045
- Two or more races4.7% · 632
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 439
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 90
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lovelace
Lovelace 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
#2,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,787
+428 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 4.67
Rank movement Down 135 places
2020
#2,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,343
-444 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 4.46
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,478 | 13,359 | 4.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,613 | 13,787 | 4.67 | +428 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 135 places |
| 2020 | #2,640 | 13,343 | 4.46 | -444 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 27 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 Lovelace 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 | #2,613 | #2,640 | -1.0% |
| Count | 13,787 | 13,343 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.67 | 4.46 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lovelace bearers went from 13,787 to 13,343 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,613 to #2,640.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lovelace
FAQ
Lovelace surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lovelace?
Name Census estimates that about 15,301 living Americans carry the surname Lovelace. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,401 residents.
How common is Lovelace?
Lovelace ranks #2,640 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,343 people with the surname Lovelace. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,301), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Lovelace.
Has Lovelace become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lovelace went from 13,787 recorded bearers to 13,343. That is a decrease of 444 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,613 to #2,640.
What does the Census say about the background of Lovelace?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovelace, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Lovelace in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (9,041 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lovelace appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.8%), Black (22.8%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Lovelace (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 Lovelace mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold lace. 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 Lovelace (4.46 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 common is the surname Lovelace?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Lovelace on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.