Ghost
A spectral being or soul, often the disembodied spirit of a deceased person.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Ghost. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ghost today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ghost births was 2020 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ghost. 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 Ghost. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2020
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,848
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Ghost: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ghost 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 Ghost during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ghost
The given name Ghost is an English word derived from the Germanic root "gast", which means "spirit" or "breath". The name has its origins in the early medieval period, when belief in ghosts and supernatural beings was widespread.
In Old English literature, the word "ghost" appeared frequently in poetry and religious texts, often referring to the soul or spirit of a deceased person. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ghost is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which dates back to the 9th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ghost was associated with the supernatural and the afterlife. It was sometimes used as a nickname or moniker for individuals who were believed to have encountered or communicated with spirits or ghosts.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ghost was a 12th-century English monk known as Ghost of Bury St. Edmunds (c. 1120 - c. 1180). He was a renowned scholar and chronicler who wrote about the history of the Benedictine abbey in Bury St. Edmunds.
Another notable figure with the name Ghost was Ghost of Pavia (c. 1230 - c. 1300), an Italian philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on the nature of the soul and the afterlife. His works influenced the development of medieval Christian thought on these subjects.
In the 16th century, a German Protestant reformer named Ghost Schwenckfeld (1490 - 1561) played a significant role in the Reformation movement. He was known for his teachings on the spiritual nature of the Eucharist and his opposition to the use of violence in religious conflicts.
During the 18th century, a British explorer and adventurer named Ghost Frobisher (1738 - 1792) gained fame for his expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage. He made several voyages to the Canadian Arctic and is credited with the discovery of Frobisher Bay.
In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals with the name Ghost was Ghost Dances with Wolves (1919 - 2007), a Native American actor and activist of the Blackfeet Nation. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 1990 film "Dances with Wolves" and his advocacy for Native American rights and culture.
People
Ghost + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ghost as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ghost: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ghost?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ghost 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Ghost a common name?
We classify Ghost as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ghost most popular?
The single biggest year for Ghost was 2020, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ghost is about 5 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 Ghost in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ghost a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ghost 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 Ghost still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ghost 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 Ghost 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 are called Ghost?
You can see how many people share the name Ghost on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.