How common is the surname Love?

82,873 people in the United States had the surname Love in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,726 Americans. It ranked 385th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Love?

Courtney Love, American rock musician (born 1964), followed by Kevin Love.

Where is the surname Love most common?

Wikidata records people named Love in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Love getting more or less common?

More common. 78,323 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 82,873 in 2010, up 5.8%.

Is Love also a first name?

Yes. Love 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 Love

A surname, carried by 82,873 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex L100 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). Love is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 82,873 people named Love in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,726 Americans. That is up 5.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 78,323.

#385

rank among US surnames

82,873

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+5.8%

change since 2000 (was #363)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#376	Cabrera	83,621	3,692
#377	McKinney	83,616	3,692
#378	Mann	83,510	3,697
#379	Zimmerman	83,265	3,708
#380	Dawson	83,182	3,712
#381	Lara	83,067	3,717
#382	Fletcher	83,063	3,717

Who is named Love

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

56% of people named Love identified as white (not Hispanic), 37% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.9% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 56%
Black (not Hispanic) 37%
Two or more races 2.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Loves

32 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Courtney Love
American rock musician (born 1964)
Kevin Love
American basketball player (born 1988)
Bessie Love
American actress (1898–1986)
Brandi Love
American pornographic actress (born 1973)
Darlene Love
American musician, born 1941
Mia Love
American politician (1975–2025)
Mike Love
American singer, born 1941
Stanley G. Love
American astronaut, born 1965
Bob Love
American basketball player (1942–2024)
Shy Love
American pornographic actress, born 1978
Montagu Love
British actor (1877–1943)
Leandro Love
Brazilian association football player, born 1985

Notable Loves come mostly from the United States (27), the United Kingdom (2) and Brazil (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Love

Love has the Soundex code L100, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L100.

Questions

How common is the surname Love?: 82,873 people in the United States had the surname Love in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,726 Americans. It ranked 385th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Love?: In the 2010 Census, 56% of people named Love identified as white (not Hispanic), and 37% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Love?: Courtney Love, American rock musician (born 1964), followed by Kevin Love.
Where is the surname Love most common?: Wikidata records people named Love in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil and 2 other countries.
Is the surname Love getting more or less common?: More common. 78,323 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 82,873 in 2010, up 5.8%.
Is Love also a first name?: Yes. Love 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.