Levy
A Hebrew name meaning "joined" or "accompanied".
Name Census estimates that about 2,628 living Americans carry the first name Levy. It is a predominantly male name (92.5% of registrations). The average person named Levy today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Levy births was 2021 (153 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Levy. 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 Levy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 130,424 Americans
Peak year
2021
153 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,852
Tracked since 1880
Census
Levy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,641 people with the first name Levy, which placed it at #6,148 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
#6,148
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,641 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
34.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Levy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Levy is White at 34.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.9%) and Black (22.3%). 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 Levy 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 Levy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White34.8% · 919
- Hispanic or Latino28.9% · 764
- Black or African American22.3% · 590
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.5% · 277
- Two or more races3.0% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Levy
Levy leans heavily male at 92.5% of total registrations, but 311 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Levy as a male name
- Ranked #1,852 in 2024
- 87 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (102 births)
Levy as a female name
- Ranked #3,538 in 2024
- 44 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (51 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Levy leans strongly male. 2,332 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 311 female bearers (11.8%).
Popularity
Levy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Levy from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 649 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Levy 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 Levy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Levys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, California recorded the most babies named Levy, while Washington, Colorado, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 82 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Levy
The name Levy has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "levi," which means "joined" or "attached." The name is associated with the biblical figure Levi, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and the eponymous ancestor of the Israelite tribe of Levi.
The Levites were a tribe responsible for the religious and spiritual duties in ancient Israelite society. They served as priests, scribes, and guardians of the sacred texts and traditions. The name Levy, therefore, carries a religious and spiritual significance, reflecting a connection to the Levite tribe and their important roles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Levy can be found in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The name appears in several other biblical texts, such as the Book of Exodus, where Levi and his descendants are mentioned as the chosen tribe for religious service.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Levy. One of the earliest was Levi ben Gershon, also known as Gersonides, a famous Jewish philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in the 14th century (1288-1344) in Provence, France.
Another significant figure was Judah Aryeh Loeb ben Bezalel, better known as the Maharal of Prague, a renowned rabbi, philosopher, and mystic who lived in the 16th century (1512-1609) and made significant contributions to Jewish thought and literature.
In the world of music, Levy is the first name of Levy Mayer, a French composer and conductor who lived in the 19th century (1829-1905) and is known for his operas and orchestral works.
In the realm of literature, Levy Zumwalt was an American novelist and short story writer active in the early 20th century (1888-1976), known for his works exploring the lives and experiences of the working class.
Levy Eshkol was a prominent Israeli statesman and politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death in 1969, leading the country during a turbulent period and the Six-Day War in 1967.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Levy, reflecting its long-standing and significant presence across various cultures, religions, and fields of endeavor.
People
Levy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Levy 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
Levy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Levy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,628 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Levy 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 130,424 US residents.
Is Levy a common name?
We classify Levy as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Levy most popular?
The single biggest year for Levy was 2021, when 153 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Levy is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Levy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,641 people with the name Levy, or 0.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,148 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 Levy 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 Levy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Levy leans strongly male. 2,332 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 311 female bearers (11.8%). 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 Levy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Levy is White at 34.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.9%) and Black (22.3%). 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 Levy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Levy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.8% (919 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 Levy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Levy a male name?
Yes, 92.5% of people registered as Levy in the SSA data are male. 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 Levy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Levy 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 Levy 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 Levy as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.