How common is the surname Lanier?

20,997 people in the United States had the surname Lanier in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,704 Americans. It ranked 1,712th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Lanier?

Jaron Lanier, American computer scientist, musician, and author, followed by Sidney Lanier.

Where is the surname Lanier most common?

Wikidata records people named Lanier in the United States and France.

How do you pronounce Lanier?

Lanier is /ˈleɪnjə(ɹ)/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Lanier getting more or less common?

More common. 20,181 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,997 in 2010, up 4.0%.

The surname Lanier

A surname, carried by 20,997 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈleɪnjə(ɹ)/ 2 syllables Soundex L560

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Lanier is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

From Old French lanier, from laine (“wool”).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 20,997 people named Lanier in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 14,704 Americans. That is up 4.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 20,181.

#1,712

rank among US surnames

20,997

people in 2010

7.1

per 100,000 Americans

+4%

change since 2000 (was #1,625)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,703	Jean	21,140	14,605
#1,704	Land	21,116	14,621
#1,705	Patino	21,113	14,623
#1,706	Marrero	21,109	14,626
#1,707	Hager	21,106	14,628
#1,708	Hurt	21,037	14,676
#1,709	Ash	21,030	14,681

Who is named Lanier

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

67% of people named Lanier identified as white (not Hispanic), 28% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 67%
Black (not Hispanic) 28%
Two or more races 2.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Laniers

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Jaron Lanier
American computer scientist, musician, and author, born 1960
Sidney Lanier
American musician and poet (1842–1881)
Bob Lanier
American basketball player (1948–2022)
Allen Lanier
American musician (1946-2013)
Susan Lanier
American television and film actress, born 1947
Sterling E. Lanier
American writer (1927–2007)
Alex Lanier
Badminton player, born 2005
Willie Lanier
American football player, born 1945
Khalia Lanier
American volleyball player, born 1998

Notable Laniers come mostly from the United States (8) and France (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Lanier

Lanier has the Soundex code L560, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L560.

Questions

Where does the surname Lanier come from?: From Old French lanier, from laine (“wool”).
How common is the surname Lanier?: 20,997 people in the United States had the surname Lanier in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,704 Americans. It ranked 1,712th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Lanier?: In the 2010 Census, 67% of people named Lanier identified as white (not Hispanic), and 28% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Lanier?: Jaron Lanier, American computer scientist, musician, and author, followed by Sidney Lanier.
Where is the surname Lanier most common?: Wikidata records people named Lanier in the United States and France.
How do you pronounce Lanier?: Lanier is /ˈleɪnjə(ɹ)/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Lanier getting more or less common?: More common. 20,181 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,997 in 2010, up 4.0%.