2000
#1,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,730
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.57
Uncommon Last name
Locklear
An English occupational surname referring to a locksmith or someone who made or repaired locks and keys.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,203 Americans carry the last name Locklear. That puts it at #2,003 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,966 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Locklear 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.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,966
Census rank
#2,003
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,618 bearers of the surname Locklear in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2003rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Locklear, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 66.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Two or More Races (8.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Locklear
The surname Locklear has its roots in Scotland, where it emerged in the 12th century as a variation of the Gaelic name Lochluibhear, which means "a person from the lake district." The name is derived from the Gaelic words "loch," meaning lake, and "luibhear," meaning steward or keeper.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Scottish Highlands, where it was commonly found in areas such as Argyll and the Western Isles. In historical records, the name appeared in various spellings, including Lockluber, Lochlubhair, and Lochluibhear.
One of the earliest known references to the name Locklear can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of Scottish nobles' sworn allegiances to King Edward I of England. In this document, the name is recorded as "Lochluibhear."
Throughout the centuries, the Locklear surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Iain Lochluibhear, a Scottish warrior who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Locklear family settled in the Scottish Lowlands, where the name evolved into its modern spelling. One prominent figure from this era was William Locklear, a landowner and merchant who lived in Ayrshire in the late 1500s.
During the Scottish Diaspora of the 17th and 18th centuries, many Locklears migrated to other parts of the British Isles and abroad, including North America. One notable example is John Locklear, a Scottish immigrant who settled in Virginia in the late 1600s and became a prosperous farmer and landowner.
In more recent times, the Locklear surname has been carried by several notable individuals, including the American actress and model Heather Locklear, born in 1961, and the professional wrestler and actor Andrew Locklear, known as "The Mastodon," born in 1981.
Overall, the surname Locklear has a long and rich history that can be traced back to the Scottish Highlands, where it originated as a Gaelic name associated with the stewardship of lakes and waterways.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Locklear
Among Census respondents with the surname Locklear, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 66.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Two or More Races (8.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Locklear 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 Locklear surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native66.1% · 11,648
- White19.5% · 3,440
- Two or more races8.5% · 1,492
- Black or African American3.7% · 646
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 355
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Locklear
Locklear 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
#1,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,716
+1,986 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 6.68
Rank movement Up 45 places
2020
#2,003
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,618
-2,098 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 5.89
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,864 | 17,730 | 6.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,819 | 19,716 | 6.68 | +1,986 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 45 places |
| 2020 | #2,003 | 17,618 | 5.89 | -2,098 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 184 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 Locklear 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 | #1,819 | #2,003 | -10.1% |
| Count | 19,716 | 17,618 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 6.68 | 5.89 | -11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Locklear bearers went from 19,716 to 17,618 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,819 to #2,003.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Locklear
FAQ
Locklear surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Locklear?
Name Census estimates that about 20,203 living Americans carry the surname Locklear. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,966 residents.
How common is Locklear?
Locklear ranks #2,003 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,618 people with the surname Locklear. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,203), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Locklear.
Has Locklear become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Locklear went from 19,716 recorded bearers to 17,618. That is a decrease of 2,098 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,819 to #2,003.
What does the Census say about the background of Locklear?
Among Census respondents with the surname Locklear, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 66.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Two or More Races (8.5%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Locklear in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.1% (11,648 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Locklear appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (66.1%), White (19.5%), Two or More Races (8.5%). 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 Locklear (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 Locklear mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a locksmith or someone who made or repaired locks and keys. 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 Locklear (5.89 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 Locklear?
See how many people have the last name Locklear on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.