Surname Rarity Checker / How rare is Lee
How Rare Is the Last Name Lee?
Lee is the 21st most common surname in the United States. About 693,023 Americans carry it, which works out to roughly 1 in 383 people, or 0.261% of the population. That is a common surname, though far from the top of the list. Here is the full picture from the Census surname file, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 383
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 21st
- Share of people
- 0.261%
- People named
- 693,023
- Source
- Census 2010
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 surname file, which counts 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames held by 100 or more people.
Where the surname Lee comes from
Lee has two unrelated sources that happen to be spelled alike. In English it means a clearing or meadow. It is also the romanization of the Korean and Chinese surname Li, borne by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Want to check a different last name? Try the surname rarity checker. Last names are only half the picture: the first-name rarity checker runs the same math on given names, and how common is my name combines the two.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the last name Lee?
- Lee is in the Common tier. About 1 in 383 Americans share it, which is 0.261% of the population, and it ranks 21st of all U.S. surnames. In total 693,023 people carried it in the 2010 Census.
- Is Lee a rare last name?
- No. Lee is a well-established surname rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 21st of all U.S. surnames, with about 1 in 383 Americans sharing it.
- How common is the surname Lee?
- About 1 in 383 Americans carry the surname Lee, which is 0.261% of the population and 21st of all U.S. surnames. That places it in the Common tier.
- How many people have the last name Lee?
- 693,023 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's 2010 surname file, which counted 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames.
- Where does the surname Lee come from?
- Lee has two unrelated sources that happen to be spelled alike. In English it means a clearing or meadow. It is also the romanization of the Korean and Chinese surname Li, borne by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.