Explore the Family Name Lain

The meaning of Lain

1. English: variant of Lane. 2. Shortened form of Scottish and northern Irish McLain (see McLean). 3. Spanish (Laín): from the personal name Laín, from Latin Flavinus. 4. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 連 and 練, see Lian 2 and 3.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Lain in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Lain has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 9962nd most common surname, with a total count of 2988 individuals bearing this name, translating to approximately 1.11 per 100,000 people. By 2010, the rank had fallen to 11815, representing an 18.6% decrease, while the count also fell by 11.35% to 2649 individuals or about 0.9 per 100,000 people.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#9,962	#11,815	-18.6%
Count	2,988	2,649	-11.35%
Proportion per 100k	1.11	0.9	-18.92%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Lain

The Decennial U.S. Census data also sheds light on the ethnic identity associated with the surname Lain. The majority of Lains were identified as White in both years, although the percentage saw a slight drop from 85.04% in 2000 to 81.92% in 2010. Meanwhile, the number of individuals claiming Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity more than doubled from 1.57% to 3.51%. Those associating with two or more races also increased, rising from 2.21% to 2.83%. The Hispanic population among Lains grew by 44.91%, reaching 2.42% in 2010. The Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native populations, however, saw slight decreases, falling to 8.53% and 0.79% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	85.04%	81.92%	-3.67%
Black	8.7%	8.53%	-1.95%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.57%	3.51%	123.57%
Two or More Races	2.21%	2.83%	28.05%
Hispanic	1.67%	2.42%	44.91%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.8%	0.79%	-1.25%