Lenore
A feminine name of unclear origin, perhaps meaning "light".
Name Census estimates that about 8,123 living Americans carry the first name Lenore. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lenore today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lenore births was 1926 (460 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lenore. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lenore with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.1K
~ 1 in 42,196 Americans
Peak year
1926
460 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1929 SSA rank
#2,018
Tracked since 1880
Census
Lenore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,125 people with the first name Lenore, which placed it at #2,307 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
#2,307
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,125 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenore is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Lenore 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 Lenore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 9,048
- Black or African American9.0% · 996
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 618
- Two or more races2.0% · 227
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 159
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 77
Gender
Gender distribution for Lenore
Out of the 22,876 babies given the name Lenore since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lenore as a male name
- Ranked #3,777 in 1929
- 6 male births in 1929
- Peak: 1929 (6 births)
Lenore as a female name
- Ranked #2,018 in 2024
- 97 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1926 (460 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lenore appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,122 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lenore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lenore from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 4,260 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lenore 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 Lenore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lenores live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Lenore, while North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 396 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lenore
The name Lenore has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "Leno," meaning "lion," and is a feminine form of the name Leonhard or Leonard.
The name Lenore gained popularity in the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in France and Germany. During this time, it was often spelled as "Leonor" or "Leonore," reflecting its Germanic roots. The name was commonly associated with nobility and royalty in medieval Europe.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lenore can be found in the medieval French poem "Le Roman de la Rose," written in the 13th century. In this work, the character Lenore is depicted as a beautiful and virtuous lady.
The name Lenore also appears in the works of renowned writers and poets throughout history. One of the most notable examples is Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," published in 1845, in which the narrator mourns the loss of his beloved Lenore.
Among the historical figures who bore the name Lenore, one can mention Lenore of Navarre (1363-1413), a French noblewoman and the second wife of King Charles III of Navarre. Another notable Lenore was Lenore Christina, Countess of Hesse-Rotenburg (1718-1743), a German aristocrat known for her philanthropic work.
In the realm of arts and literature, Lenore Tawney (1907-2007) was an American fiber artist and sculptor known for her innovative woven works. Lenore Ulric (1892-1970) was a celebrated American stage and film actress, known for her performances in Broadway productions and silent films.
Lenore Toussaint (1922-2005) was a pioneering African American opera singer and vocal coach, known for her groundbreaking performances in the United States and Europe in the mid-20th century.
While the name Lenore has waned in popularity in recent decades, its rich historical roots and literary associations have ensured that it remains a distinctive and evocative choice for parents seeking a name with a sense of tradition and cultural significance.
People
Lenore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lenore 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
Lenore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lenore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lenore 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 42,196 US residents.
Is Lenore a common name?
We classify Lenore as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,876 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lenore most popular?
The single biggest year for Lenore was 1926, when 460 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lenore is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lenore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,125 people with the name Lenore, or 3.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,307 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 Lenore 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 Lenore?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lenore appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,122 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Lenore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenore is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Lenore most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lenore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (9,048 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 Lenore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lenore a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lenore 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 Lenore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lenore 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 Lenore 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 are named Lenore?
Want to know how many Americans are named Lenore? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.