2000
#2,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,951
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.80
Uncommon Last name
Lyle
From a place name derived from the Old French "l'isle," meaning "the island."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,178 Americans carry the last name Lyle. That puts it at #2,836 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lyle 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 Lyle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,175
Census rank
#2,836
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,364 bearers of the surname Lyle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2836th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyle, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lyle
The surname Lyle is of Anglo-Scottish origin, derived from the Old English word "hyll" or the Old French word "l'isle", both meaning "hill" or "island". It is believed to have originated in the late 11th or early 12th century.
Lyle was initially a topographic name given to someone who lived on a hill or an island. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th century in Scotland, where it was spelled as "Lyle" or "Lile".
In the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England, several individuals with the surname Lyle are mentioned, including Robert de Lyle from Renfrewshire and Walter de Lyle from Lanarkshire.
The Lyle family was prominent in Scotland during the Middle Ages, and various branches held lands in different regions. One notable member was Sir Robert Lyle, who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence in the early 14th century.
In England, the surname can be traced back to the 13th century, with variations such as "Lyle", "Lile", and "Lisle". The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England compiled in 1086, does not mention the name Lyle, suggesting it emerged later.
Prominent individuals with the surname Lyle include:
1. Sir Robert Lyle (c. 1290 - c. 1350), a Scottish knight and companion of Robert the Bruce.
2. Deacon William Lyle (1605 - 1684), a Scottish settler in New England and one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut.
3. John Lyle (1734 - 1806), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Tennessee.
4. Sir Onesiphorus Tyndal-Bruce Lyle (1839 - 1909), a British naval officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross.
5. David Naylor Lyle (1846 - 1917), a Scottish businessman and co-founder of Lyle's Golden Syrup.
The name Lyle has also been associated with various place names, such as Lyle Hill in Gloucestershire, England, and Lyle Creek in British Columbia, Canada, reflecting its topographic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lyle
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyle, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Lyle 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 Lyle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 9,829
- Black or African American11.5% · 1,425
- Two or more races4.1% · 505
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 443
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 69
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lyle
Lyle 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
#2,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,192
+241 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 4.47
Rank movement Down 161 places
2020
#2,836
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,364
-828 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 4.14
Rank movement Down 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,570 | 12,951 | 4.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,731 | 13,192 | 4.47 | +241 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 161 places |
| 2020 | #2,836 | 12,364 | 4.14 | -828 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 105 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 Lyle 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 | #2,731 | #2,836 | -3.8% |
| Count | 13,192 | 12,364 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.47 | 4.14 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lyle bearers went from 13,192 to 12,364 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,731 to #2,836.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lyle
FAQ
Lyle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lyle?
Name Census estimates that about 14,178 living Americans carry the surname Lyle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,175 residents.
How common is Lyle?
Lyle ranks #2,836 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,364 people with the surname Lyle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Lyle.
Has Lyle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lyle went from 13,192 recorded bearers to 12,364. That is a decrease of 828 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,731 to #2,836.
What does the Census say about the background of Lyle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyle, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Lyle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (9,829 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lyle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (11.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Lyle (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 Lyle mean?
From a place name derived from the Old French "l'isle," meaning "the island." 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 Lyle (4.14 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 Americans have the surname Lyle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.