Flo
A feminine name derived from the Latin "Flora", meaning "flower".
Name Census estimates that about 347 living Americans carry the first name Flo. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Flo today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Flo births was 1917 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Flo. 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 Flo with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Flo is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Flos were born before 1958.
People living today
347
~ 1 in 987,765 Americans
Peak year
1917
57 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,029
Tracked since 1881
Census
Flo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,530 people with the first name Flo, which placed it at #9,196 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
#9,196
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,530 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Flo is White at 58.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (11.4%). 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 Flo 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 Flo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.8% · 900
- Hispanic or Latino20.1% · 308
- Black or African American11.4% · 175
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 92
- Two or more races2.4% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 18
Popularity
Flo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Flo from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 434 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
Flo 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 Flo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Flos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Flo, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Flo
The name Flo has its roots in the Latin language, originating from the word "flos," which means "flower." This etymology suggests that the name was initially associated with nature's beauty and vitality. It gained popularity during the Roman era and was commonly used as a feminine name.
In ancient Rome, the name Flo was often given to girls born during the spring season, symbolizing the blooming of new life. It also held a connection to the Roman goddess of flowers, Flora, who was celebrated with the annual festival of Floralia, which honored the arrival of spring and the blossoming of flowers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Flo can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Flo in his historical accounts. Additionally, the name appears in various Roman inscriptions and records from the first century AD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Flo. One such figure was Flo Hyman (1954-1986), an American volleyball player who led the United States women's national volleyball team to a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Another prominent Flo was Flo Ziegfeld (1867-1932), an American Broadway impresario known for his elaborate stage productions, the Ziegfeld Follies. His extravagant shows featured glamorous showgirls and were a significant part of the theatrical landscape in the early 20th century.
In the literary world, Flo Gibson (1901-1977) was an American writer and journalist who gained recognition for her novels and short stories that explored the lives of working-class women in the American Midwest.
The name Flo also holds significance in the realm of sports. Flo Hyman (1954-1986), mentioned earlier, was a dominant force in women's volleyball and is remembered for her powerful playing style and her contributions to the sport.
Furthermore, Flo Malloway (1897-1975) was an American tennis player who won multiple Grand Slam titles in the 1920s, including the French Championships (now the French Open) in 1920.
While the name Flo has maintained a presence throughout history, its popularity has waxed and waned over time. Nevertheless, its association with nature's beauty and the arrival of spring continues to imbue the name with a sense of freshness and vitality.
People
Flo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Flo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Flo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Flo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 347 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Flo 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 987,765 US residents.
Is Flo a common name?
We classify Flo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,094 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Flo most popular?
The single biggest year for Flo was 1917, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Flo is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Flo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,530 people with the name Flo, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,196 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 Flo 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 Flo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Flo leans strongly female. 1,466 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 66 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Flo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Flo is White at 58.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (11.4%). 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 Flo most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Flo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.8% (900 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 Flo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Flo a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Flo in the SSA data are female. 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 Flo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Flo 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 Flo 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 are called Flo?
You can see how many Americans are named Flo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.