How common is the surname Lincoln?

16,477 people in the United States had the surname Lincoln in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,738 Americans. It ranked 2,209th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Lincoln?

Andrew Lincoln, British actor (born 1973), followed by Abbey Lincoln.

Where is the surname Lincoln most common?

Wikidata records people named Lincoln in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

How do you pronounce Lincoln?

Lincoln is /ˈlɪŋ.kən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Lincoln getting more or less common?

More common. 16,070 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,477 in 2010, up 2.5%.

Is Lincoln also a first name?

Yes. Lincoln is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Lincoln

A Latin surname, carried by 16,477 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈlɪŋ.kən/ 2 syllables Soundex L524 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Lincoln is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

Latin origin

Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of the places established since 1865 are named after Abraham Lincoln.

One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 16,477 people named Lincoln in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,738 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,070.

#2,209

rank among US surnames

16,477

people in 2010

5.6

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #2,068)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,200	Schilling	16,546	18,660
#2,202	Duff	16,536	18,671
#2,203	Carrera	16,533	18,675
#2,204	Burkhart	16,526	18,682
#2,205	Adamson	16,515	18,695
#2,206	Arnett	16,499	18,713
#2,207	Reagan	16,491	18,722

Who is named Lincoln

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

75% of people named Lincoln identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.7% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 15%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3.7%
Two or more races 2.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Lincolns

10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Andrew Lincoln
British actor (born 1973)
Abbey Lincoln
American singer (1930–2010)
Blanche Lincoln
American politician, born 1960
Elmo Lincoln
American film actor (1889-1952)
Abraão Lincoln Martins
Brazilian association football player, born 1983
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps
American educator, botanist, author (1793-1884)
Lar Park Lincoln
American actress, 1961–2025
Caryl Lincoln
American actress (1903-1983)
Pamela Lincoln
American actress (1937-2019)
Howard Lincoln
American lawyer and businessman, born 1940

Notable Lincolns come mostly from the United States (8), the United Kingdom (1) and Brazil (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Lincoln

Lingle

Lincoln has the Soundex code L524, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L524.

Other Latin surnames

All 91 Latin surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Lincoln come from?: Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of…
How common is the surname Lincoln?: 16,477 people in the United States had the surname Lincoln in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,738 Americans. It ranked 2,209th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Lincoln?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Lincoln identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Lincoln?: Andrew Lincoln, British actor (born 1973), followed by Abbey Lincoln.
Where is the surname Lincoln most common?: Wikidata records people named Lincoln in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
How do you pronounce Lincoln?: Lincoln is /ˈlɪŋ.kən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Lincoln getting more or less common?: More common. 16,070 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,477 in 2010, up 2.5%.
Is Lincoln also a first name?: Yes. Lincoln is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.