2000
#14,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Lucius
An ancient Roman family name derived from the Latin word "lux," meaning "light."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,258 Americans carry the last name Lucius. That puts it at #14,552 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,796 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lucius 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
2.3K
1 in 151,796
Census rank
#14,552
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,969 bearers of the surname Lucius in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14552nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucius, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lucius
The surname Lucius has its origins in ancient Roman culture, deriving from the personal name Lucius. This name was widely used in ancient Rome, with its roots tracing back to the Latin word "lux," meaning light or brightness. The name was often associated with individuals born in the morning or at dawn.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lucius can be found in medieval European records, particularly in regions with strong Roman influences such as Italy, Spain, and parts of France. One notable example is the Italian scholar and philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca, who lived from around 4 BC to 65 AD.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Lucius appeared in various records across Europe, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests that individuals bearing the surname may have arrived in England during that period.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Lucius III served as Pope from 1181 to 1185. He played a significant role in the conflict between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, and his pontificate was marked by efforts to assert the Church's authority.
The surname Lucius also has connections to geographical locations. For instance, the town of Lucios in Spain may have derived its name from individuals bearing the surname, or vice versa. Additionally, the Lucio family was a prominent noble family in Italy during the Renaissance period.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lucius include:
1. Lucius Shepard (1947-2014), an American writer known for his science fiction and fantasy works.
2. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II (1825-1893), a American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Mississippi and as the United States Secretary of the Interior.
3. Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland (1610-1643), an English author and politician who played a significant role in the English Civil War.
4. Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138 BC-78 BC), a Roman dictator and general who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
5. Lucius Apuleius (c. 124-c. 170 AD), a Latin novelist and philosopher, best known for his work "The Golden Ass," one of the earliest surviving novels in Western literature.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence of the surname Lucius throughout history, spanning various cultures, time periods, and influential individuals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lucius
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucius, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Lucius 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 Lucius surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 1,483
- Black or African American15.0% · 295
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 107
- Two or more races3.7% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lucius
Lucius 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
#14,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,016
+113 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 330 places
2020
#14,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,969
-47 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 187 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,409 | 1,903 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,739 | 2,016 | 0.68 | +113 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 330 places |
| 2020 | #14,552 | 1,969 | 0.66 | -47 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 187 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 Lucius 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 | #14,739 | #14,552 | 1.3% |
| Count | 2,016 | 1,969 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.66 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lucius bearers went from 2,016 to 1,969 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 187 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,739 to #14,552.
FAQ
Lucius surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lucius?
Name Census estimates that about 2,258 living Americans carry the surname Lucius. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,796 residents.
How common is Lucius?
Lucius ranks #14,552 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,969 people with the surname Lucius. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,258), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Lucius.
Has Lucius become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lucius went from 2,016 recorded bearers to 1,969. That is a decrease of 47 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,739 to #14,552.
What does the Census say about the background of Lucius?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucius, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Lucius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (1,483 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lucius appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.3%), Black (15.0%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Lucius (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 Lucius mean?
An ancient Roman family name derived from the Latin word "lux," meaning "light." 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 Lucius (0.66 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 Lucius?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Lucius? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.