2000
#2,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,465
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.25
Uncommon Last name
Lyman
From an English placename meaning "an enclosed area of land" or referring to a servant who tended such land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,058 Americans carry the last name Lyman. That puts it at #3,077 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,249 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lyman 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 Lyman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,249
Census rank
#3,077
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,387 bearers of the surname Lyman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3077th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Black (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lyman
The surname LYMAN has its origins in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words 'lie' meaning shelter and 'mann' meaning man, thus translating to a man living in a sheltered or secluded area. The name was initially found in various counties across England, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LYMAN can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where it appears as 'Leman'. This spelling variation was common during the Middle Ages and is believed to have evolved from the original Old English pronunciation.
The LYMAN surname has a rich historical presence, with notable mentions in various ancient records and manuscripts. In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, the name appears as 'Lemannus' and is listed among landholders in counties like Norfolk and Suffolk.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the LYMAN surname was Sir Richard Lyman (c. 1480 - 1554), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire during the reign of King Henry VIII. Another prominent figure was Henry Lyman (1592 - 1671), a founding settler of Hartford, Connecticut, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century.
Other notable individuals with the LYMAN surname include:
1. Phineas Lyman (1716 - 1774), an American military officer who served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
2. Theodore Lyman III (1833 - 1897), an American writer, horticulturist, and philanthropist from Massachusetts.
3. Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835 - 1920), an American geologist and educator who served as the principal of Pennsylvania State Normal School, now known as Bloomsburg University.
4. Amasa Lyman (1813 - 1877), an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
5. Chester Lyman (1822 - 1890), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from Connecticut.
Throughout its history, the LYMAN surname has been associated with various place names and locations, including Lyman, New Hampshire, and Lyman County, South Dakota, both named after early settlers bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lyman
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Black (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lyman 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 Lyman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 9,802
- Two or more races4.2% · 478
- Black or African American3.6% · 415
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 409
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 200
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 83
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lyman
Lyman 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
#3,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,664
+199 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 3.95
Rank movement Down 204 places
2020
#3,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,387
-277 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 3.81
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,875 | 11,465 | 4.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,079 | 11,664 | 3.95 | +199 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 204 places |
| 2020 | #3,077 | 11,387 | 3.81 | -277 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 2 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 Lyman 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 | #3,079 | #3,077 | 0.1% |
| Count | 11,664 | 11,387 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.95 | 3.81 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lyman bearers went from 11,664 to 11,387 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,079 to #3,077.
FAQ
Lyman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lyman?
Name Census estimates that about 13,058 living Americans carry the surname Lyman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,249 residents.
How common is Lyman?
Lyman ranks #3,077 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.81 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 11,387 people with the surname Lyman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,058), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.81 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 Lyman.
Has Lyman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lyman went from 11,664 recorded bearers to 11,387. That is a decrease of 277 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,079 to #3,077.
What does the Census say about the background of Lyman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Black (3.6%). 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 Lyman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (9,802 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lyman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Black (3.6%). 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 Lyman (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 Lyman mean?
From an English placename meaning "an enclosed area of land" or referring to a servant who tended such land. 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 Lyman (3.81 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 common is the surname Lyman?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Lyman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.