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    The surnameLewis

    A Norman patronymic surname, the 29th most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈluːɪs/ 2 syllables Soundex L200 Also a first name

    Lewis: #29 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Lewis #29, 531,781 people Lewis: #29 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Lewis #29, 531,781 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Lewis is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    Norman origin

    From Middle English Lewis, Lowis, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French Louis, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg. Doublet of Louis.

    Lewis is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 128 Norman surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 531,781 people named Lewis in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 581 Americans. That is up 4.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 509,930.

    #29
    rank among US surnames
    531,781
    people in 2010
    180
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.3%
    change since 2000 (was #26)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #20Martin702,625439
    #21Lee693,023446
    #22Perez681,645453
    #23Thompson664,644465
    #24White660,491467
    #25Harris624,252495
    #26Sánchez612,752504

    Who is named Lewis

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

    58% of people named Lewis identified as white (not Hispanic), 35% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 58%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 35%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
    • Two or more races 2.6%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Lewiss

    164 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Sinclair Lewis
      American writer and playwright (1885–1951)
    • Jerry Lewis
      American comedian, actor and film director (1926–2017)
    • Gilbert N. Lewis
      American physical chemist, 1875–1946
    • Jerry Lee Lewis
      American rock 'n' roll musician (1935–2022)
    • Juliette Lewis
      American actress and singer, born 1973
    • Edward B. Lewis
      American biologist (1918–2004)
    • Bernard Lewis
      British-American historian (1916–2018)
    • John Lewis
      American politician and civil rights leader (1940–2020)
    • Lennox Lewis
      British-Canadian boxer Vc, born 1965
    • Meriwether Lewis
      American explorer (1774-1809)
    • Richard Lewis
      American stand-up comedian (1947–2024)
    • Damian Lewis
      British actor, born 1971

    Notable Lewiss come mostly from the United States (141), the United Kingdom (11) and Australia (6).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Lewis

    Lewis has the Soundex code L200, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L200.

    Other Norman surnames

    All 128 Norman surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Lewis come from?
    From Middle English Lewis, Lowis, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French Louis, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg. Doublet of Louis.
    How common is the surname Lewis?
    531,781 people in the United States had the surname Lewis in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 581 Americans. It ranked 29th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Lewis?
    In the 2010 Census, 58% of people named Lewis identified as white (not Hispanic), and 35% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Lewis?
    Sinclair Lewis, American writer and playwright (1885–1951), followed by Jerry Lewis.