How Rare Is Your Name? The Simple Math Behind the Number

"How rare is my name" sounds like a question with a fuzzy answer. It is not. There is a clean, honest number behind it, and once you see how it is built you can read any result at a glance.

The formula

Start with one big number: the total count of U.S. births on record from 1880 to 2024, which is 372,009,150. Then count how many of those births got your exact name. Divide the first by the second and you get the rarity figure, written as "1 in X".

• James was given to 5,262,396 people, so 372 million divided by that is about 1 in 71.
• Emma was given to 765,264 people, which comes to about 1 in 486.
• Nevaeh, a newer name, sits at 1 in 3,834.

Same formula every time. The rarer the name, the bigger the X.

The six tiers

The raw number is precise but hard to feel, so we sort every name into six tiers.

Tier	How many share the name
Very Common	more than 1 in 200
Common	1 in 200 to 1 in 2,000
Uncommon	1 in 2,000 to 1 in 20,000
Rare	1 in 20,000 to 1 in 200,000
Very Rare	1 in 200,000 to 1 in 2 million
Ultra Rare	rarer than 1 in 2 million

James is Very Common, Emma is Common, Nevaeh is Uncommon. Most people land in one of the first two tiers, so a Rare or Ultra Rare badge is earned.

Rank is the other half

Alongside rarity we show an all-time rank: your name's position when all 104,819 names are sorted from most to least common. James is number 1. Emma is number 72. Rank and rarity tell the same story two ways, and pairing them is the fastest way to understand a name.

The honest caveat

One thing to keep straight: these are counts of recorded names across 145 years, not a headcount of people alive today. Someone named in 1925 counts the same as someone named last year. That keeps the ranking fair and stable, but it is a names figure, not a census of the living. We spell out every source and limit on the methodology page.

Ready to see yours? Run the Name Rarity Checker and you will get your number, your tier, your rank, and a card built to share.