2000
#2,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,302
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.30
Uncommon Last name
Lind
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a linden tree or in a place abundant with lindens.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,753 Americans carry the last name Lind. That puts it at #2,424 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lind 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 Lind with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,459
Census rank
#2,424
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,609 bearers of the surname Lind in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2424th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lind, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lind
The surname Lind has its origins in Sweden and Denmark, where it first emerged as an occupational name for someone who worked with linden or lime trees. The name is derived from the Old Swedish and Old Danish word 'lind', meaning lime tree.
In Sweden, the name can be traced back to the 14th century. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Landskapshandlingar records from Västergötland, Sweden, dated to 1371, which mentions a person named Laurencius Lind.
The name Lind was also present in Denmark during the medieval period. One notable historical reference is the Danish census records from the island of Falster in 1510, which lists several individuals with the surname Lind.
During the 16th century, the name spread to other parts of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, including Norway and Finland. In Finland, the name is sometimes spelled as Lind or Linna, with the latter being a variant derived from the Finnish word for 'castle' or 'fortress'.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Lind was Carl von Lind (1838-1923), a Swedish-born American artist and illustrator. Another notable figure was Jenny Lind (1820-1887), the famous Swedish operatic soprano known as the "Swedish Nightingale".
Other historical figures with the surname Lind include James Lind (1716-1794), a Scottish physician who conducted pioneering research on scurvy and is considered the founder of nautical medicine. Johan Lind (1737-1781) was a Swedish botanist and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Arctic regions.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lind is found in the 1790 census records from Pennsylvania, which lists a family with the surname Lind.
The surname Lind has also been associated with various place names throughout Scandinavia, such as Lindby (linden village) and Lindholm (linden island), further reinforcing its connection to the lime tree.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lind
Among Census respondents with the surname Lind, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lind 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 Lind surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 12,694
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 974
- Two or more races3.3% · 486
- Black or African American1.1% · 167
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 144
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lind
Lind 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
#2,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,990
+688 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 5.08
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#2,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,609
-381 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 4.89
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,316 | 14,302 | 5.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,416 | 14,990 | 5.08 | +688 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #2,424 | 14,609 | 4.89 | -381 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 8 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 Lind 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 | #2,416 | #2,424 | -0.3% |
| Count | 14,990 | 14,609 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.08 | 4.89 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lind bearers went from 14,990 to 14,609 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,416 to #2,424.
FAQ
Lind surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lind?
Name Census estimates that about 16,753 living Americans carry the surname Lind. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,459 residents.
How common is Lind?
Lind ranks #2,424 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,609 people with the surname Lind. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,753), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Lind.
Has Lind become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lind went from 14,990 recorded bearers to 14,609. That is a decrease of 381 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,416 to #2,424.
What does the Census say about the background of Lind?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lind, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lind in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (12,694 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lind appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.9%), Hispanic (6.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lind (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 Lind mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a linden tree or in a place abundant with lindens. 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 Lind (4.89 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 Lind?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Lind at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.