Lumsden last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Lumsden

A Scottish locational surname derived from a place in Aberdeenshire, likely meaning "valley of the elm trees."

Lumsden, 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 Lumsden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lumsden in America

Lumsden is the 12156th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lumsden surname appeared 2,563 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lumsden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lumsden 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 12156 11628 4.44%
Count 2,563 2,476 3.45%
Proportion per 100k 0.87 0.92 -5.59%

The history of the last name Lumsden

The surname Lumsden is of Scottish origin, originating from the lands of the same name located in Berwickshire. The name is derived from the Old English words "lum" meaning a small river or stream, and "dene" meaning a valley.

The earliest recorded reference to the name dates back to the 12th century, with mention of the lands of Lumsden in a charter granted by King David I of Scotland to the Benedictine monks of Coldingham Priory. Over the following centuries, the Lumsden family became prominent landowners in the Scottish Borders region.

One notable figure was Sir James Lumsden, who was appointed Governor of Berwick and Warden of the East Marches in the late 15th century. He played a significant role in the conflicts between Scotland and England during this period.

Another prominent individual was Sir Robert Lumsden, who served as a military commander under King James VI of Scotland and later King James I of England in the early 17th century. He fought in the Nine Years' War in Ireland and was knighted for his services.

In the 18th century, Andrew Lumsden (1720-1801) was a Scottish soldier and orientalist who served in the East India Company's army. He became renowned for his translations of ancient Persian texts and his contributions to the study of Indian languages.

Moving to the 19th century, Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden (1821-1908) was a British military officer who served in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and later became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army. He was also an accomplished linguist and scholar of Indian languages and culture.

Throughout history, the Lumsden surname has been associated with various landed estates and properties in the Scottish Borders region, including Lumsden Castle, Blanerne Castle, and Innerleithen. The name has also been recorded in various spellings, such as Lumisden, Lumsdaine, and Lumsdayn, reflecting regional variations and linguistic evolution over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lumsden

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

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 Lumsden was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 81.70% 2,094
Non-Hispanic Black Only 11.98% 307
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.74% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.35% 9
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.26% 58
Hispanic Origin 2.97% 76

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 Lumsden has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 81.70% 86.03% -5.16%
Black 11.98% 9.13% 27.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.74% 0.57% 25.95%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.35% 0.48% -31.33%
Two or More Races 2.26% 2.22% 1.79%
Hispanic 2.97% 1.58% 61.10%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Lumsden last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/lumsden-surname-popularity/.

"Lumsden last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/lumsden-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Lumsden last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/lumsden-surname-popularity/.

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