Courage
A quality of resolute mind and firm spirit.
Name Census estimates that about 316 living Americans carry the first name Courage. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Courage today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Courage births was 2018 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Courage. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Courage with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
316
~ 1 in 1,084,666 Americans
Peak year
2018
25 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,313
Tracked since 1990
Census
Courage in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 386 people with the first name Courage, which placed it at #24,794 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
#24,794
National first-name rank
People counted
386
386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Courage
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courage is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%). 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 Courage 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 Courage at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.3% · 229
- White20.7% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.0% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 24
- Two or more races4.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Courage
Courage leans heavily male at 80.6% of total registrations, but 62 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Courage as a male name
- Ranked #7,313 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (18 births)
Courage as a female name
- Ranked #13,809 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2018 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Courage on both sides of the split. Of the 390 people counted with this name, 272 were male (69.7%) and 118 were female (30.3%).
Popularity
Courage: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Courage from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 156 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Courage remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Courage 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 Courage 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 Courage
The name Courage is derived from the Old French word "corage", which itself comes from the Latin "cor" meaning "heart". It originated in medieval times and was often used as a virtue name, representing bravery, valor, and fortitude.
The earliest recorded use of the name Courage dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various literary works and historical records across Europe. One notable example is the French epic poem "The Song of Roland", which features a character named Courage who displays unwavering bravery in battle.
Throughout history, several famous individuals have borne the name Courage. One of the earliest was Courage le Vaillant (1265-1329), a French knight who fought alongside King Philip IV during the Hundred Years' War. His valorous deeds on the battlefield earned him the epithet "the Valiant".
Another notable figure was Courage Bradford (1590-1667), an English Puritan and one of the first settlers of the Plymouth Colony in North America. He is remembered for his resilience and determination in the face of adversity during the colony's early years.
In the 18th century, Courage Brewster (1723-1789) was a British naval officer who distinguished himself in several battles during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. His daring exploits and leadership skills earned him a reputation as a fearless and courageous commander.
During the 19th century, Courage Hoskins (1842-1912) was a prominent African American educator and civil rights activist. She dedicated her life to promoting equal educational opportunities for Black children and played a pivotal role in establishing several schools and colleges in the southern United States.
In more recent times, Courage Tshawane (1927-2005) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. He spent years in prison for his role in the struggle against racial segregation and later served as a member of the post-apartheid government, working tirelessly to promote reconciliation and social justice.
People
Courage + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Courage 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
Courage: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Courage?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 316 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Courage 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 1,084,666 US residents.
Is Courage a common name?
We classify Courage as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 319 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Courage most popular?
The single biggest year for Courage was 2018, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Courage is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Courage in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 386 people with the name Courage, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,794 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 Courage 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 Courage?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Courage on both sides of the split. Of the 390 people counted with this name, 272 were male (69.7%) and 118 were female (30.3%). 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 Courage?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courage is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.0%). 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 Courage most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Courage in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (229 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 Courage in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Courage a male name?
Yes, 80.6% of people registered as Courage 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 Courage still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Courage 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 Courage 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 common is the name Courage?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.