2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lyrek
A variant of the Polish surname Lyrek, potentially derived from a regional place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Lyrek. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lyrek 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Lyrek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lyrek
The surname LYREK is believed to have originated in Poland around the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old Polish word "lyry", which means "lyre" – a stringed musical instrument. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who played or made lyres.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LYREK can be found in a 14th century document from the town of Bydgoszcz, where a person named Jan Lyrek was listed as a resident. Another early mention is in a 16th century record from the village of Lyrekowice, which likely took its name from a family with the LYREK surname already living there.
In the 17th century, the LYREK name appeared in church records from the town of Tczew, where a man named Tomasz Lyrek was born in 1632. Around the same time, a variant spelling "Lyreck" was used in the nearby village of Lyrki.
One notable bearer of the LYREK name was Marcin Lyrek, a Polish composer and musician who lived from 1789 to 1858. He is known for his works for the lyre and other string instruments.
Another person of historical significance was Katarzyna Lyrek, a Polish noblewoman from the 16th century who owned land and estates in the region of Silesia. Records show she was involved in various legal disputes over property rights.
In the 19th century, a man named Józef Lyrek fought in the November Uprising of 1830-1831, which was an armed rebellion against the Russian Empire's control over Poland. He was captured and exiled to Siberia for his involvement.
The LYREK surname can also be found in old records from the city of Krakow, where a family by that name lived in the 15th century. One member, Jan Lyrek, was a merchant and guild member recorded in 1472.
While originally centered in Poland, the name has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world through immigration and migration over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lyrek
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lyrek 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 Lyrek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 101
- Two or more races7.1% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lyrek
Lyrek 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+11 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 989 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-14 bearers (-11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 989 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.0%) | Down 14,173 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 Lyrek 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 | #133,048 | #147,221 | -10.7% |
| Count | 127 | 113 | -11.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lyrek bearers went from 127 to 113 (-11.0% change). The surname moved down 14,173 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #147,221.
FAQ
Lyrek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lyrek?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Lyrek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Lyrek?
Lyrek ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 113 people with the surname Lyrek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Lyrek.
Has Lyrek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lyrek went from 127 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Lyrek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lyrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Lyrek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lyrek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (7.1%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Lyrek (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 Lyrek mean?
A variant of the Polish surname Lyrek, potentially derived from a regional place name. 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 Lyrek (0.04 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 Lyrek?
See how many people have the surname Lyrek on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.