2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lovis
An occupational surname derived from the French word "louvier" meaning a gamekeeper or hunter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Lovis. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lovis 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.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Lovis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovis, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lovis
The surname Lovis has its origins in France, emerging in the Middle Ages around the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "loup," meaning "wolf," and likely referred to someone with wolf-like characteristics or perhaps a wolf hunter. The name was initially found in the regions of Normandy and Brittany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lovis surname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name is listed as "Loueis" in this historical document.
In the 13th century, the name is found in various records, sometimes spelled as "Loveis" or "Loveys." One notable bearer was Jean Lovis, a French nobleman born in 1245 who served as a knight under King Louis IX during the Seventh Crusade.
The Lovis surname also has ties to several place names in France, such as Louville and Louviers, which may have influenced the spelling variations over time.
During the Renaissance period, a prominent figure bearing the Lovis name was Étienne Lovis (1520-1589), a French humanist scholar and poet who authored several works on classical literature and philosophy.
In the 17th century, Jacques Lovis (1625-1692) was a French painter and engraver known for his still-life and landscape paintings.
Another notable individual was Marie-Anne Lovis (1705-1787), a French writer and salonnière who hosted influential literary gatherings in her Parisian salon, attended by prominent figures of the Enlightenment era.
In the 19th century, Louis Lovis (1825-1890) was a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Hôtel de Ville and the Palais de Justice.
Finally, one of the most recent historical figures bearing the Lovis surname was Henri Lovis (1892-1968), a French artist known for his vibrant Fauvist paintings and his association with the Parisian avant-garde art scene.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lovis
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovis, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lovis 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 Lovis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 13
- Black or African American3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lovis
Lovis 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,385 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,004 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,385 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,004 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 Lovis 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 | #146,201 | #150,205 | -2.7% |
| Count | 113 | 109 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lovis bearers went from 113 to 109 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,004 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #150,205.
FAQ
Lovis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lovis?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Lovis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Lovis?
Lovis ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Lovis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Lovis.
Has Lovis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lovis went from 113 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Lovis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lovis, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Lovis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lovis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.7%), Hispanic (11.9%), Black (3.7%). 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 Lovis (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 Lovis mean?
An occupational surname derived from the French word "louvier" meaning a gamekeeper or hunter. 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 Lovis (0.04 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 last name Lovis?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Lovis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.