Lusk last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Lusk

An English locational surname derived from a place of the same name, likely referring to a marsh or bog.

Lusk, 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 Lusk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lusk in America

Lusk is the 2803rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lusk surname appeared 12,847 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Lusk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lusk 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 2803 2726 2.79%
Count 12,847 12,145 5.62%
Proportion per 100k 4.36 4.50 -3.16%

The history of the last name Lusk

The surname Lusk has its origins in Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic word 'losc', which means a place of burning or a burnt area. This suggests that the name may have originated from a location where a forest or woodland had been burnt or cleared by fire.

The name is believed to have first appeared in the 12th century in County Mayo, located in the west of Ireland. It is thought that the name may have been adopted by those who lived in or near an area that had been cleared by fire for agricultural or settlement purposes.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lusk can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the entry for the year 1181, there is mention of a chieftain named Maghnus O'Loisc (Lusk) who was involved in a battle against the English.

The name Lusk has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Lusk, a village located in County Dublin. This village is believed to have derived its name from the surname, suggesting that it may have been a settlement established by those bearing the Lusk name.

Notable individuals throughout history with the surname Lusk include:

  1. Sir Andrew Lusk (1688-1763), an Irish politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for County Mayo in the Irish House of Commons.

  2. John Lusk (1802-1878), an American Presbyterian minister and theologian who was involved in the Old School-New School Controversy within the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

  3. Mary Lusk (1854-1936), an American educator and activist who founded the Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and was instrumental in the fight for women's suffrage.

  4. Hugh Hamill Lusk (1872-1953), an American obstetrician and gynecologist who made significant contributions to the field of maternal and child health.

  5. Rufus S. Lusk (1892-1963), an American lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of Texas from 1939 to 1949.

While the surname Lusk has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, carried by those of Irish descent who immigrated to these countries over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lusk

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

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 Lusk was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 85.90% 11,036
Non-Hispanic Black Only 8.83% 1,134
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.52% 67
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.64% 82
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.66% 213
Hispanic Origin 2.44% 313

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 85.90% 88.17% -2.61%
Black 8.83% 8.25% 6.79%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.52% 0.33% 44.71%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.64% 0.58% 9.84%
Two or More Races 1.66% 1.33% 22.07%
Hispanic 2.44% 1.34% 58.20%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!

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

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

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.