Lem Barney
There are approximately 1 people named Lem Barney living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Lem with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Barney. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Lem
233
Alive today
Named Barney
18K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 233
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1917
Average age: 78
Top Census group: Black or African American (35.1%)
Estimated bearers: 18K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,261
Per 100K: 5.24
Top ancestry: White (76.4%)
First name trend
Lem: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Lem. The peak year was 1917 with 39 births. The average person named Lem today is 78 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lem
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Lem, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 35.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lem described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Lem at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American35.1% · 167
- White34.5% · 164
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.0% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 21
- Two or more races3.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 8
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Barney surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Barney, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 76.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Barney described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Barney at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White76.4% · 11,969
- Black or African American12.0% · 1,881
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 616
- Two or more races3.9% · 609
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 484
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 112
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Lem has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0001% of the US population, based on 233 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Lem right now.
The surname Barney appears at a rate of 5.24 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0052%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Lem Barney. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Lem Barney: questions and answers
How many people are named Lem Barney?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Lem Barney. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0001%) with the surname frequency (5.24 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Lem Barney?
We classify Lem Barney as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Lem a male or female name?
Lem is predominantly male. Out of 1,297 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Lem profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Lem Barney?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.