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    The surname Light

    A surname, carried by 16,769 people in the United States.

    1 syllable Soundex L230

    Light: #2,164 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Light #2,164, 16,769 people Light: #2,164 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Light #2,164, 16,769 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Light is more common than 98.7% of them.

    Origin

    English surname, from both senses of light.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 16,769 people named Light in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,412 Americans. That is up 0.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,671.

    #2,164
    rank among US surnames
    16,769
    people in 2010
    5.7
    per 100,000 Americans
    +0.6%
    change since 2000 (was #1,996)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #2,155Stovall16,82718,348
    #2,156Rooney16,82318,353
    #2,157Coe16,81918,357
    #2,158Corral16,80818,369
    #2,159Barrow16,80118,377
    #2,160Torrez16,79518,383
    #2,161Dupree16,79418,384

    Who is named Light

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

    92% of people named Light identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 92%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 2.8%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 1.4%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Lights

    4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Judith Light
      American actress, born 1949
    • John Light
      British actor, born 1972
    • Matt Light
      American football player (born 1978)
    • Enoch Light
      American musician (1905–1978)

    Notable Lights come mostly from the United States (3) and the United Kingdom (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Light

    Light has the Soundex code L230, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L230.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Light come from?
    English surname, from both senses of light.
    How common is the surname Light?
    16,769 people in the United States had the surname Light in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,412 Americans. It ranked 2,164th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Light?
    In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Light identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Light?
    Judith Light, American actress, followed by John Light.
    Where is the surname Light most common?
    Wikidata records people named Light in the United States and the United Kingdom.
    Is the surname Light getting more or less common?
    More common. 16,671 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,769 in 2010, up 0.6%.