# Lawless (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/lawless/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Middle English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 9,093 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,903 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 33,954 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.9% (8,833 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English laweles (“lawless”), a nickname for an unrestrained and licentious man.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Lawless in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Lawless in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Lawless

- Megan Lawless, American film and television actress
- Christopher Lawless, British bicycle racer
- Jack Lawless, American musician

## Similar surnames

Lyles, Liles, Lollis, Lillis.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.