Explore the Family Name Liwanag

The meaning of Liwanag

Filipino: nickname from Tagalog liwanag ‘light’, probably referring to desirable qualities associated with light, such as brightness, clarity, righteousness, and integrity.

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

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

The surname Liwanag saw a surge in popularity from 2000 to 2010, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Liwanag was ranked as the 36,045th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had risen to the 28,998th place, marking an increase of 19.55%. The count of individuals with this surname also grew significantly during this period, from 588 people in 2000 to 819 people in 2010, representing a jump of 39.29%. This growth is echoed in the proportion per 100k, which went up by 27.27% from 0.22 to 0.28.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#36,045	#28,998	19.55%
Count	588	819	39.29%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.28	27.27%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Liwanag

On the ethnicity front, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that majority of the individuals with the surname Liwanag identified themselves as Asian/Pacific Islander, accounting for 90.99% in 2000 and 87.91% in 2010. There were also noticeable shifts in other ethnic identities over the decade. The percentage of those who identified as having two or more races increased by 35.62%, while those who identified as White rose by 71.49%. The proportion of Hispanics with this surname also climbed by 48.16%. However, the census did not record any Black individuals or American Indian and Alaskan Natives identifying with the surname Liwanag in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	90.99%	87.91%	-3.38%
Two or More Races	3.06%	4.15%	35.62%
Hispanic	2.72%	4.03%	48.16%
White	2.21%	3.79%	71.49%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.02%	0%	0%