Explore the Family Name Les
The meaning of Les
1. Polish, Slovenian, and Czech: topographic name for someone who lived in a forest, from Polish and Slovenian dialect and Czech les ‘wood, forest’. The homonymous Sorbian cognate, Lěs, is found in Germanized forms, only (see Lies). 2. Polish (Leś): probably a cognate of 3 below. 3. In some cases probably also Slovenian and Czech (Leš): from a short form of the personal name Aleš (see Ales). The homonymous and possibly related Sorbian surname, Lěš, is found in Germanized and probably also Americanized forms, only (see Lesch and Lesh). 4. In some cases probably also Croatian (Leš): unflattering nickname from leš ‘dead body’. Compare Lesh. Some characteristic forenames: Polish Jadwiga, Janusz, Jerzy, Tadeusz.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Les in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Les saw a slight decrease in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the rank of the name was 48,293, but by 2010 it had fallen to 49,914, marking a 3.36% drop. However, there was a slight increase in the absolute count of individuals with this surname during the same period, rising from 411 to 420, equating to a 2.19% growth. The proportion of people with the surname per 100,000 also slightly decreased from 0.15 to 0.14.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #48,293 | #49,914 | -3.36% |
| Count | 411 | 420 | 2.19% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.15 | 0.14 | -6.67% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Les
The ethnicity breakdown for the surname Les also underwent some changes between the years 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased by 27.68%, whereas those identifying as White increased by 9.8%. A new demographic emerged in 2010, with 2.38% identifying as Hispanic, which was not present in the 2000 data. The Black community saw a considerable decrease from 4.62% to 1.9%, a fall of 58.87%. The number of individuals identifying as two or more races dropped to zero, and there were no registered American Indian and Alaskan Natives for both years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 81.75% | 89.76% | 9.8% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 5.6% | 4.05% | -27.68% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 2.38% | 0% |
| Black | 4.62% | 1.9% | -58.87% |
| Two or More Races | 4.14% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |