2000
#10,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,837
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Lunt
Derived from the Old English word "lundt," referring to someone who lived near a grove or small wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,413 Americans carry the last name Lunt. That puts it at #10,296 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,426 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lunt 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 Lunt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 100,426
Census rank
#10,296
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,976 bearers of the surname Lunt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10296th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lunt
The surname Lunt originates from England and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "hlunt," meaning a ridge or small hill. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name lived near a prominent geographical feature such as a ridge or hill.
Lunt is an Anglo-Saxon name that can be traced back to the 11th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
The name Lunt is most commonly associated with the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire in northern England, where several towns and villages bear the name, such as Lunt in Lancashire and Lunt Heath in Cheshire. These place names likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in those regions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Lunt was John Lunt, who was born in Lancashire in the late 13th century. He served as a soldier and was mentioned in various military records from the time.
Another notable figure with the Lunt surname was Sir Henry Lunt, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Cheshire who lived in the 16th century. He was knighted by King Henry VIII and played a significant role in local politics and governance.
In the 17th century, Thomas Lunt (1610-1678) was a prominent Puritan minister who served as the pastor of the First Church of Christ in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born in England but immigrated to the American colonies as a young man.
During the American Revolutionary War, Daniel Lunt (1753-1817) was a soldier and militiaman from Massachusetts who fought in several key battles against the British forces. He later became a respected farmer and community leader in his hometown.
In the 19th century, George Lunt (1803-1885) was an American lawyer, scholar, and author who served as a member of the Massachusetts legislature and wrote several books on legal and literary topics.
These examples illustrate the long history and wide geographical distribution of the Lunt surname, with bearers of the name playing various roles in military, religious, political, and intellectual spheres throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lunt
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lunt 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 Lunt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 2,735
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 117
- Two or more races2.3% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- Black or African American0.7% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lunt
Lunt 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
#10,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,025
+188 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 180 places
2020
#10,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,976
-49 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Up 297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,413 | 2,837 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,593 | 3,025 | 1.03 | +188 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 180 places |
| 2020 | #10,296 | 2,976 | 1.00 | -49 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 297 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 Lunt 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 | #10,593 | #10,296 | 2.8% |
| Count | 3,025 | 2,976 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 1.00 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lunt bearers went from 3,025 to 2,976 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 297 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,593 to #10,296.
FAQ
Lunt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lunt?
Name Census estimates that about 3,413 living Americans carry the surname Lunt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,426 residents.
How common is Lunt?
Lunt ranks #10,296 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,976 people with the surname Lunt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,413), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Lunt.
Has Lunt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lunt went from 3,025 recorded bearers to 2,976. That is a decrease of 49 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,593 to #10,296.
What does the Census say about the background of Lunt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Lunt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (2,735 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lunt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Lunt (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 Lunt mean?
Derived from the Old English word "lundt," referring to someone who lived near a grove or small wood. 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 Lunt (1.00 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 Lunt?
Want to know how many people have the surname Lunt? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.