Coit
A masculine name derived from Middle English meaning "quiet" or "still".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Coit. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coit today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coit births was 1920 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coit. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Coit is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Coits were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Coit. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1920
7 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1950 SSA rank
#3,081
Tracked since 1918
Census
Coit in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 107 people with the first name Coit, which placed it at #52,420 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#52,420
National first-name rank
People counted
107
107 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coit
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Coit is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Coit described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Coit at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 93
- Two or more races6.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Coit: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Coit from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 25 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Coit by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Coit during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Coit
The given name Coit has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the period between the 5th and 11th centuries CE. It is derived from the Old English word "cot," which referred to a small cottage or humble dwelling. This name was likely given to individuals who lived in such modest homes or were associated with them in some way.
During the Middle Ages, the name Coit appeared in various historical records and documents across parts of Britain. One notable early reference is found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Coit who held property in Oxfordshire.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Coit was Sir Coit de Lancelyn, a knight who lived in the late 12th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Richard I and accompanied the monarch on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land from 1189 to 1192.
Another historical figure bearing this name was Coit FitzAlan, born in 1220, who served as a distinguished military commander during the Second Barons' War in England. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Lewes in 1264, where he fought alongside Simon de Montfort against the forces of King Henry III.
In the 15th century, Coit Chaucer (1415-1483) was a notable English author and poet, known for his satirical works that criticized the moral decay of the nobility and clergy. He was a distant relative of the renowned writer Geoffrey Chaucer and drew inspiration from his literary style.
During the Tudor period, Coit Cavendish (1555-1628) was a prominent courtier and diplomat who served under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He was instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of London in 1604, which established peace between England and Spain after years of conflict.
It is worth noting that while the name Coit has ancient roots and a rich historical background, its usage as a given name has become relatively rare in modern times. However, it continues to hold significance as a reminder of the cultural and linguistic heritage of the English language.
People
Coit + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coit as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Coit: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coit?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coit going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Coit a common name?
We classify Coit as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coit most popular?
The single biggest year for Coit was 1920, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coit is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Coit in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 107 people with the name Coit, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,420 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Coit in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Coit?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Coit leans strongly male. 106 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Coit?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Coit is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Coit most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Coit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (93 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Coit in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Coit a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coit in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Coit still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Coit in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Coit can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Coit as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Coit on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.