The Lake surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,104 people carried this name — #1,091 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,190 people counted. That is up 4% from 30,924 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Lake surname
Derived from the noun lake.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lake» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 121 people named Lake.
47 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Guadeloupe.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
22 people named Lake live in Switzerland.
They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 22 people named Lake live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
140 people named Lake is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Lake in American newspapers,
1852–1908.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,620,567 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lake,
with a public archive behind them.
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Edna B. Holman d. 1928 · writer
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George Lake d. 2019 · astronomer
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Jedediah Lake d. 1914 · politician
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Edward Wiliam Lake d. 1847 · art collector
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Caroline Bussell d. 1956
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Frances Partington d. 1909
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lake.
- Lair 3,923 · U.S. census
- Laire 104 · U.S. census
- Lajara 773 · U.S. census
- Lajaunie 354 · U.S. census
- Lajeunesse 1,367 · U.S. census
- Lajoie 3,145 · U.S. census
- Lakomy 237 · U.S. census
- Lala 1,390 · U.S. census
- Lalande 515 · U.S. census
- Lalanne 658 · U.S. census
- Lale 162 · U.S. census
- Laliberte 3,120 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lake is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.