Hinckley
A name of English origin potentially related to "hink," meaning "to walk lamely."
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Hinckley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Hinckley today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hinckley births was 2017 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hinckley. 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 Hinckley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
2017
12 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,873
Tracked since 2001
Gender
Gender distribution for Hinckley
Hinckley is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 73 total registrations, 58 (79.5%) were male and 15 (20.5%) were female.
Hinckley as a male name
- Ranked #12,873 in 2018
- 5 male births in 2018
- Peak: 2010 (11 births)
Hinckley as a female name
- Ranked #16,442 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2007 (5 births)
Popularity
Hinckley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hinckley from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 57 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hinckley 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 Hinckley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hinckleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hinckley
The name Hinckley has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain. It is derived from the words "hinc," meaning "hinge," and "leah," meaning "meadow" or "clearing." Together, these elements form a topographic name, suggesting that the name originally referred to a person who lived near a hinge-shaped meadow or clearing.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hinckley can be found in ancient Anglo-Saxon records and chronicles from the 7th to 11th centuries. During this period, the name was primarily concentrated in the midlands region of England, particularly in areas such as Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
One notable historical figure with the name Hinckley was Sir Walter Hinckley (c. 1290-1362), an English landowner and soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He was knighted for his service and bravery on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Thomas Hinckley (1566-1632) emerged as a successful merchant and landowner in Tenterden, Kent. He was known for his wealth and philanthropic efforts, contributing to the construction of almshouses and other charitable endeavors in his community.
During the colonial era in America, Thomas Hinckley (1618-1706) served as the governor of the Plymouth Colony from 1681 to 1692. He played a crucial role in the administration and governance of the colony, navigating through challenging times and helping to shape its development.
In more recent history, John Hinckley Jr. (born 1955) gained notoriety for his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Although this event brought the name into the public spotlight for unfortunate reasons, it serves as a historical reference to the name's usage in modern times.
It is worth noting that while Hinckley has been used as a first name throughout history, it is more commonly encountered as a surname or place name, particularly in reference to the town of Hinckley in Leicestershire, England.
People
Hinckley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hinckley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hinckley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hinckley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hinckley 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Hinckley a common name?
We classify Hinckley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 73 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hinckley most popular?
The single biggest year for Hinckley was 2017, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hinckley is about 14 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 Hinckley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hinckley a male name?
Yes, 79.5% of people registered as Hinckley 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 Hinckley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hinckley 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 Hinckley 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 have Hinckley as a first name?
Find out how many people share the name Hinckley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.