The Ly surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 29,891 people carried this name — #1,176 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,870 people counted. That is up 30% from 22,990 in 2000.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,156 people named Ly.
Most of them — 987 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 45 départements, most often Paris.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
703 people named Ly live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 445 people named Ly 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 Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
20 people named Ly have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 78 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 the Nordic population registers
642 people named Ly are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Ly in American newspapers,
1862–1869.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,254,294 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Ly,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Arria Ly 1881–1934 · editor -
Grete Ly 1885–1942 · actor -
Joche Albert Ly 1910–1951 -
Oumar Ly 1943–2016 · photographer -
Ramata Ly-Bakayoko 1955– · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 53 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ly.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ly 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.