2000
#49,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 396
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Lybeck
A surname originating from the Swedish town of Lybäck.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 431 Americans carry the last name Lybeck. That puts it at #58,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 795,254 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lybeck 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
431
1 in 795,254
Census rank
#58,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
376
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 376 bearers of the surname Lybeck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 58307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lybeck
The surname Lybeck originated in Sweden, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the city of Lübeck, a prominent Hanseatic League trading hub located in northern Germany. The name likely evolved from individuals who either hailed from or had connections to Lübeck.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lybeck surname can be traced back to a Swedish church record from 1586, where a man named Hans Lybeck was mentioned. This suggests that the name had already been established in Sweden by that time.
In the 17th century, a notable Lybeck was Peder Lybeck, a Swedish merchant and ship owner who was born in 1609 and passed away in 1677. He played a significant role in the Swedish East India Company's trade ventures.
Another prominent figure was Carl Lybeck, a Swedish engineer and inventor who lived from 1784 to 1856. He is credited with developing a breech-loading cannon, which was a revolutionary innovation in artillery technology at the time.
During the 19th century, the Lybeck surname gained further recognition with the birth of Rickard Lybeck in 1838. He was a Swedish author and journalist who became a prominent figure in the country's literary circles.
In the early 20th century, Gunnar Lybeck, born in 1891 and died in 1963, was a Swedish architect known for his work on several notable buildings in Stockholm, including the Stockholm Concert Hall.
It is worth noting that the Lybeck surname has also been spelled in various ways throughout history, such as Lübeck, Lybbeck, and Lybecke, reflecting the influence of regional dialects and variations in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lybeck
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lybeck 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 Lybeck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 359
- Two or more races2.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lybeck
Lybeck 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
#53,667
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 385
-11 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 3,900 places
2020
#58,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 376
-9 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 4,640 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,767 | 396 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,667 | 385 | 0.13 | -11 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 3,900 places |
| 2020 | #58,307 | 376 | 0.13 | -9 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 4,640 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 Lybeck 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 | #53,667 | #58,307 | -8.6% |
| Count | 385 | 376 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.13 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lybeck bearers went from 385 to 376 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 4,640 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,667 to #58,307.
FAQ
Lybeck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lybeck?
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the surname Lybeck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 795,254 residents.
How common is Lybeck?
Lybeck ranks #58,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 376 people with the surname Lybeck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Lybeck.
Has Lybeck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lybeck went from 385 recorded bearers to 376. That is a decrease of 9 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #53,667 to #58,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Lybeck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Lybeck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (359 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lybeck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Black (0.8%). 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 Lybeck (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 Lybeck mean?
A surname originating from the Swedish town of Lybäck. 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 Lybeck (0.13 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 share the surname Lybeck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.