Lashell
Of disputed origin, possibly a combination of French and English roots.
Name Census estimates that about 911 living Americans carry the first name Lashell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lashell today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lashell births was 1971 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lashell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
911
~ 1 in 376,240 Americans
Peak year
1971
42 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2012 SSA rank
#18,370
Tracked since 1951
Census
Lashell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 812 people with the first name Lashell, which placed it at #14,499 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,499
National first-name rank
People counted
812
812 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lashell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashell is Black at 73.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lashell 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lashell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.2% · 594
- White17.4% · 141
- Two or more races5.0% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Lashell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lashell from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 306 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lashell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lashell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lashells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lashell, while Virginia, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lashell
The name Lashell has its origins rooted in the French language. It is a derivative of the Old French word "lachelle," which translates to "little tongue" or "small language." This term likely emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, between the 5th and 15th centuries, when the French language was evolving from its Vulgar Latin roots.
Despite its French linguistic roots, the name Lashell does not appear to have any significant historical references or recorded appearances in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or notable historical records. Its usage as a given name seems to be a relatively modern phenomenon.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lashell was Lashell Burtley, an American actress born in 1967. She is known for her roles in various television shows and films throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including appearances in "The Parkers" and "Eve."
Another notable figure with the name Lashell was Lashell Griffin, an American basketball player born in 1980. She played professionally in the WNBA for several teams, including the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury, during the early 2000s.
In the realm of music, Lashell Renee, an American singer and songwriter born in 1979, gained recognition for her contributions to the R&B and neo-soul genres. She has released several albums and collaborated with various artists throughout her career.
Lashell Pearson, born in 1984, is an American track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump and triple jump events. She represented the United States in multiple international competitions, including the World Championships and the Olympic Games.
Lastly, Lashell Lane, born in 1992, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA. She was drafted in the second round of the 2015 WNBA Draft after a successful college career at Ohio State University.
While the name Lashell may have French linguistic origins, its usage as a given name appears to be relatively modern, with recorded examples primarily emerging in the latter half of the 20th century and continuing into the present day.
People
Lashell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lashell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lashell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lashell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 911 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lashell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 376,240 US residents.
Is Lashell a common name?
We classify Lashell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 999 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lashell most popular?
The single biggest year for Lashell was 1971, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lashell is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lashell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 812 people with the name Lashell, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,499 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lashell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lashell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lashell appears almost entirely female. Of the 815 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lashell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashell is Black at 73.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lashell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lashell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.2% (594 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lashell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lashell a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lashell in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lashell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lashell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lashell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Lashell?
See how many people share the name Lashell on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.