Lionell
A masculine name derived from the French diminutive of the name Leon, meaning "lion".
Name Census estimates that about 1,246 living Americans carry the first name Lionell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lionell today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lionell births was 1960 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lionell. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,084 Americans
Peak year
1960
36 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,401
Tracked since 1915
Census
Lionell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 819 people with the first name Lionell, which placed it at #14,409 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
#14,409
National first-name rank
People counted
819
819 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lionell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lionell is Black at 78.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Lionell 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 Lionell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.1% · 640
- White7.9% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 54
- Two or more races3.9% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 10
Popularity
Lionell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lionell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 286 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lionell 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 Lionell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lionells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Louisiana, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lionell, while California, Mississippi, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lionell
The name Lionell is a masculine given name derived from the French masculine name Lionel, which in turn comes from the Germanic Leonhart, a compound name formed from leo, meaning "lion", and hart, meaning "brave" or "hardy". The name essentially means "brave as a lion".
The name Lionell can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in France and England, where it gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 12th century, with references to individuals bearing the name appearing in various historical documents and records from that time period.
One of the earliest and most notable historical figures with the name Lionell was Lionell of Antwerp, a Flemish nobleman born in 1315, who played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Another notable figure was Lionell Woodville, born in 1446, who served as a courtier and diplomat during the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III of England.
In the 16th century, Lionell Ducket, born in 1541, was an English composer and organist who contributed to the development of English church music during the Renaissance era. Around the same time, Lionell Duckett, born in 1555, was an English Catholic martyr who was executed for his religious beliefs during the Elizabethan era.
Moving into the 17th century, Lionell Lockyer, born in 1600, was an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works. In the following century, Lionell Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, born in 1688, was a prominent English nobleman, poet, and influential political figure during the reign of King George I.
Throughout history, the name Lionell has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, including artists, musicians, writers, and political figures. While its popularity has fluctuated over time, the name continues to hold a certain timeless quality and historical significance, reflecting its noble roots and associations with bravery and strength.
People
Lionell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lionell 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
Lionell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lionell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,246 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lionell 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 275,084 US residents.
Is Lionell a common name?
We classify Lionell as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,606 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lionell most popular?
The single biggest year for Lionell was 1960, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lionell is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lionell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 819 people with the name Lionell, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,409 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 Lionell 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 Lionell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lionell leans strongly male. 804 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 12 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Lionell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lionell is Black at 78.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Lionell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lionell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (640 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 Lionell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lionell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lionell 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 Lionell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lionell 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 Lionell 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 share the name Lionell?
You can see how many people share the name Lionell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.