The surname Lynch
An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 117,708 people in the United States.
Pronounced /lɪnt͡ʃ/ 1 syllable Soundex L520
Origin
Irish origin
* As an Irish surname, from Ó Loingsigh (“descendant of Loingseach”), from long (“ship”). * Also as an Irish surname of Anglo-Norman origin, from De Línse, Gaelicized from Norman/French de Lench, from Lench in Worchestershire, from Old English hlinc (“hill”).
Lynch is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 117,708 people named Lynch in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,623 Americans. That is up 2.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 114,448.
Who is named Lynch
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
82% of people named Lynch identified as white (not Hispanic), 12% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 82%
- Black (not Hispanic) 12%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
- Two or more races 1.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
Famous Lynchs
48 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- David LynchAmerican filmmaker (1946–2025)
- Jane LynchAmerican actress, born 1960
- Ross LynchAmerican actor and singer, born 1995
- Lashana LynchBritish actress, born 1987
- Kelly LynchAmerican actress, born 1959
- John Carroll LynchAmerican character actor and film director, born 1963
- Loretta LynchAmerican attorney (born 1959)
- Richard LynchAmerican actor (1940-2012)
- Kevin A. LynchAmerican urban planner and architect (1918-1984)
- Peter LynchAmerican investor, mutual fund manager, born 1944
- Jennifer LynchAmerican film director and screenwriter, born 1968
- Scott LynchAmerican writer, born 1978
Notable Lynchs come mostly from the United States (40), Argentina (3) and the United Kingdom (2).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Surnames that sound like Lynch
Lynch has the Soundex code L520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L520.
Other Irish surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Lynch come from?
- * As an Irish surname, from Ó Loingsigh (“descendant of Loingseach”), from long (“ship”). * Also as an Irish surname of Anglo-Norman origin, from De Línse, Gaelicized from Norman/French de Lench, from Lench in Worchestershire, from Old English hlinc (“hill”).
- How common is the surname Lynch?
- 117,708 people in the United States had the surname Lynch in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,623 Americans. It ranked 259th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Lynch?
- In the 2010 Census, 82% of people named Lynch identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Lynch?
- David Lynch, American filmmaker (1946–2025), followed by Jane Lynch.
- Where is the surname Lynch most common?
- Wikidata records people named Lynch in the United States, Argentina and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.
- How do you pronounce Lynch?
- Lynch is /lɪnt͡ʃ/, one syllable.
- What type of surname is Lynch?
- Lynch is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
- Is the surname Lynch getting more or less common?
- More common. 114,448 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 117,708 in 2010, up 2.8%.