Downing
A name derived from the English word meaning "hilly area" or "down."
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Downing. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Downing today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Downing births was 1915 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Downing. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Downing. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
7 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#3,843
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Downing: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Downing 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 Downing during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 13 | 0 | 13 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Downing
The name Downing is an English given name that originated as a surname derived from the Old English word "dun," meaning "hill" or "down." It likely referred to someone who lived near or on a hill or down.
The earliest recorded use of the name Downing dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared as a surname in various records and documents from England. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir George Downing (1624-1684), an English soldier and diplomat who served as the second Governor of the Dominion of New England.
Another notable figure with the name Downing was Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852), an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer. He was a pioneering figure in the development of the profession of landscape architecture and played a significant role in popularizing the Romantic and Picturesque landscape gardening styles in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Downing features as a character in the novel "The Warden" by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), published in 1855. The character, Reverend Septimus Harding, is the warden of the fictional Hiram's Hospital in the novel.
Moving forward in time, Downing Street, the street in London where the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are located, takes its name from Sir George Downing, who owned a large estate in the area in the 17th century.
In more recent history, one notable bearer of the name Downing was Andrew Downing Radford (1892-1976), an American architect and educator. He was the founder of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia and made significant contributions to the field of architectural education.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Downing, showcasing its longstanding presence in the English-speaking world and its association with various fields, from politics and diplomacy to horticulture, literature, and architecture.
People
Downing + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Downing as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Downing: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Downing?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Downing 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 - US residents.
Is Downing a common name?
We classify Downing as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Downing most popular?
The single biggest year for Downing was 1915, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Downing is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Downing in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Downing a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Downing 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 Downing still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Downing 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 Downing 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Downing?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.