2000
#7,692
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,990
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Lydon
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Lideadha, meaning "descendant of Lideadha" (a personal name of unknown meaning).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,478 Americans carry the last name Lydon. That puts it at #8,116 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,542 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lydon 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 Lydon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,542
Census rank
#8,116
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,905 bearers of the surname Lydon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8116th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lydon, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lydon
The surname Lydon is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Ó Lideadha, which means "descendant of Lideadh." The name Lideadh itself is thought to be a diminutive of the word "lí," meaning "color" or "complexion," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone with a particular complexion or coloring.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 11th century in County Sligo, Ireland, where the Ó Lideadha clan was based. One of the first documented references to the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of Irish history written in the 17th century, which mentions a chieftain named Domhnall Ó Lideadha who lived in the 12th century.
In the 16th century, the Anglicized spelling "Lydon" began to emerge, as the Gaelic patronymic prefix "Ó" was often dropped or replaced with the English equivalent "O'" during this period. The Lydons were a prominent family in County Sligo and played a significant role in the region's history, with several members holding important positions and participating in various conflicts throughout the centuries.
One notable figure from the Lydon family was John Lydon, born in 1556, who was a prominent Irish lawyer and judge during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent Lydon was Patrick Lydon, born in 1781, who was a renowned Irish scholar and historian, best known for his work on the ancient Irish language and literature.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many Irish families, including the Lydons, emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly the United States and Canada, due to factors such as the Great Famine and political turmoil. This diaspora helped to spread the Lydon surname across different continents.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lydon include John Lydon, born in 1956, better known as Johnny Rotten, the iconic frontman of the pioneering punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Additionally, there was Rosemary Lydon, born in 1908, an Australian artist and sculptor who made significant contributions to the Australian art scene in the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lydon
Among Census respondents with the surname Lydon, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lydon 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 Lydon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 3,659
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 104
- Two or more races2.2% · 85
- Black or African American0.7% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lydon
Lydon 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
#8,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,091
+101 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 411 places
2020
#8,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,905
-186 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,692 | 3,990 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,103 | 4,091 | 1.39 | +101 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 411 places |
| 2020 | #8,116 | 3,905 | 1.31 | -186 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 13 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 Lydon 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 | #8,103 | #8,116 | -0.2% |
| Count | 4,091 | 3,905 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.31 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lydon bearers went from 4,091 to 3,905 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,103 to #8,116.
FAQ
Lydon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lydon?
Name Census estimates that about 4,478 living Americans carry the surname Lydon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,542 residents.
How common is Lydon?
Lydon ranks #8,116 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 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 3,905 people with the surname Lydon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,478), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 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 Lydon.
Has Lydon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lydon went from 4,091 recorded bearers to 3,905. That is a decrease of 186 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,103 to #8,116.
What does the Census say about the background of Lydon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lydon, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Lydon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (3,659 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lydon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Lydon (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 Lydon mean?
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Lideadha, meaning "descendant of Lideadha" (a personal name of unknown meaning). 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 Lydon (1.31 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 surname Lydon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.