2000
#6,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,659
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.73
Rare Last name
Lewin
Derived from the Old English personal name Leofwine, meaning "dear friend" or "beloved friend."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,655 Americans carry the last name Lewin. That puts it at #6,595 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 60,611 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lewin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lewin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 60,611
Census rank
#6,595
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,931 bearers of the surname Lewin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6595th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewin, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lewin
The surname Lewin has its origins in England, dating back to the early Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "leoh" and "wine," which together mean "dear friend." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname given to someone who was highly regarded by their community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Lewin is listed as a landowner in Gloucestershire. This indicates that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century.
During the medieval period, the name Lewin was often spelled in various ways, such as Lewin, Lewin, Lewine, and Lewyne, reflecting the flexibility of spelling conventions at the time. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of scribes.
The name Lewin has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Lewin of Tewkesbury, a Benedictine monk who lived in the late 11th century and was known for his scholarly work on the life of St. Dunstan.
In the 13th century, a man named Lewin de Northam was a prominent landowner in Devon, England. His name appears in several legal documents and records from that time period.
Another notable figure is Sir John Lewin (c. 1500-1556), who was a member of the English gentry and served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Mary I.
During the 17th century, William Lewin (1626-1702) was a prominent English mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and published several influential works on celestial mechanics.
In more recent times, Sir Thomas Lewin (1805-1877) was a British colonial administrator who served as the Chief Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the mid-19th century.
While the surname Lewin has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old English language and the early medieval period in England, where it emerged as a descriptive nickname that eventually became a hereditary surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lewin
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewin, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Lewin bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lewin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 3,577
- Black or African American16.9% · 833
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 300
- Two or more races3.3% · 164
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lewin
Lewin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,088
+429 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Up 31 places
2020
#6,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,931
-157 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.65
Rank movement Up 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,684 | 4,659 | 1.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,653 | 5,088 | 1.72 | +429 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 31 places |
| 2020 | #6,595 | 4,931 | 1.65 | -157 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 58 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lewin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,653 | #6,595 | 0.9% |
| Count | 5,088 | 4,931 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.65 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lewin bearers went from 5,088 to 4,931 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,653 to #6,595.
FAQ
Lewin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lewin?
Name Census estimates that about 5,655 living Americans carry the surname Lewin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 60,611 residents.
How common is Lewin?
Lewin ranks #6,595 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,931 people with the surname Lewin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,655), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lewin.
Has Lewin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lewin went from 5,088 recorded bearers to 4,931. That is a decrease of 157 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,653 to #6,595.
What does the Census say about the background of Lewin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewin, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lewin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (3,577 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lewin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.5%), Black (16.9%), Hispanic (6.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lewin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lewin mean?
Derived from the Old English personal name Leofwine, meaning "dear friend" or "beloved friend." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lewin (1.65 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Lewin?
See how many people have the surname Lewin on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.