How Many People Are Named Lem?
An estimated 233 people in the United States have the first name Lem. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 78 years old, and Lem peaked in popularity in 1917 with 39 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lem as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Lem paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 78, Lem is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1958.
Estimated Living Americans
233
About 1 in 1,471,049 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
78
years old
Peak Year
1917
39 births
Total Registered
1,297
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lem
Lem is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 1,297 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Lem as a male name
Ranked #5,930 in 1983
6 male births in 1983
Peak: 1917 (39 births)
Lem: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lem span from the 1880s to the 1980s, covering 11 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 239 babies were registered. Lem has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Lem by Decade
How has Lem tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Lem by State
Birth registrations for Lem span all 6 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama. The lowest are in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia. On average, about 13 Lems were registered per state.
Lem + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lem
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lem: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lem?
We estimate approximately 233 people named Lem are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,471,049 Americans share this first name.
Is Lem a common name?
Lem is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 76.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,297 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lem most popular?
Lem reached peak popularity in 1917, when 39 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lem is approximately 78 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lem a male name?
Lem is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lem Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lem Smith, Lem Johnson, Lem Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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