2000
#1,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,628
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.65
Uncommon Last name
Lovell
A locational surname referring to someone from Lovell, Normandy, likely derived from the Old French lou, meaning wolf.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,241 Americans carry the last name Lovell. That puts it at #1,729 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,748 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lovell 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 Lovell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,748
Census rank
#1,729
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,267 bearers of the surname Lovell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1729th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovell, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lovell
The surname Lovell is of Norman origin, derived from the Old French word "lovel" or "louvel," meaning a young wolf or a wolf cub. It was likely introduced to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066 by settlers from northern France and Normandy.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century, with early recordings in the Domesday Book of 1086. This ancient record listed individuals with the name Lovell as landowners in various counties across England, including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Ralph Lovell, who lived in the 12th century and held lands in Oxfordshire. Another notable figure was John Lovell, a 13th-century nobleman from Wiltshire, who served as a justice of the King's Bench during the reign of King Henry III.
During the Middle Ages, the name Lovell was also associated with several prominent families and landowners, including the Lovells of Titchmarsh in Northamptonshire and the Lovells of Minehead in Somerset. The latter family's ancestral home, Nunney Castle in Somerset, dates back to the 14th century and was once owned by Sir John Lovell, a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses.
In the 15th century, Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell, was a prominent figure in the court of King Richard III. He was a loyal supporter of the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses and played a significant role in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Another notable bearer of the name was Robert Lovell, a 17th-century English composer and musician who served as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal during the reign of King Charles I.
Throughout history, the surname Lovell has also been associated with various place names, such as Lovell's Holm in Yorkshire, Lovell's Hall in Nottinghamshire, and Lovell's Park in Oxfordshire, further reflecting its long-standing presence in England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lovell
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovell, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lovell 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 Lovell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 17,134
- Black or African American5.7% · 1,161
- Two or more races4.5% · 913
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 630
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 252
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 177
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lovell
Lovell 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
#1,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,171
+543 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 7.18
Rank movement Down 104 places
2020
#1,729
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,267
-904 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 6.78
Rank movement Down 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,596 | 20,628 | 7.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,700 | 21,171 | 7.18 | +543 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 104 places |
| 2020 | #1,729 | 20,267 | 6.78 | -904 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 29 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 Lovell 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 | #1,700 | #1,729 | -1.7% |
| Count | 21,171 | 20,267 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.18 | 6.78 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lovell bearers went from 21,171 to 20,267 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,700 to #1,729.
FAQ
Lovell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lovell?
Name Census estimates that about 23,241 living Americans carry the surname Lovell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,748 residents.
How common is Lovell?
Lovell ranks #1,729 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,267 people with the surname Lovell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,241), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Lovell.
Has Lovell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lovell went from 21,171 recorded bearers to 20,267. That is a decrease of 904 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,700 to #1,729.
What does the Census say about the background of Lovell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovell, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Lovell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (17,134 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lovell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (5.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Lovell (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 Lovell mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Lovell, Normandy, likely derived from the Old French lou, meaning wolf. 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 Lovell (6.78 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 Lovell?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.