The Lis surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,361 people carried this name — #13,002 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 125,000 people counted. That is up 2% from 2,321 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Lis surname
From lis (“fox”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lis» (Polish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
29,677 people named Lis have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 32,776 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 413 people named Lis.
109 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 38 départements, most often Nord.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 234 people named Lis 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 Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
64 people named Lis live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 28 people named Lis live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in East Flanders.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
90 people named Lis 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
Lis in American newspapers,
1859–1960.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,480,694 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lis,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Víctor Lis Quibén 1893–1963 · writer -
Jerzy Lis 1907–1944 · machinist -
Carlos Antonio Lis 1908–1958 · politician -
Avraham Lis 1913–1998 · writer -
Wojciech Lis 1913–1948
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 115 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lis.
- Lippert 5,794 · U.S. census
- Lippi 434 · U.S. census
- Lippmann 528 · U.S. census
- Lips 603 · U.S. census
- Lira 14,758 · U.S. census
- Lirot 163 · U.S. census
- Lisa 1,232 · U.S. census
- Lisch 169 · U.S. census
- Lischer 166 · U.S. census
- Lise 133 · U.S. census
- Lisi 1,910 · U.S. census
- Lisiecki 548 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lis 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.