Lad
A diminutive term expressing affection for a boy or young man.
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Lad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lad today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lad births was 1956 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lad. 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
- • The typical person named Lad is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lads were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lad. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1956
6 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1964 SSA rank
#4,355
Tracked since 1916
Census
Lad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 253 people with the first name Lad, which placed it at #32,947 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
#32,947
National first-name rank
People counted
253
253 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lad is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Lad 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 Lad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 151
- Black or African American17.0% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.5% · 24
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Lad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lad from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 6 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
Lad 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 Lad 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 Lad
The name Lad is derived from the Old English word "lad," which initially referred to a serving boy or a young male servant. This term was commonly used in medieval England, particularly during the Anglo-Saxon period, to describe young males who assisted in various household chores or duties.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lad can be traced back to the late 12th century, when it appeared in the form of "Ladde" in the Middle English text "Havelok the Dane." This work, which dates back to around 1280, mentions a character named Havelok who was initially employed as a servant, reflecting the name's association with a young male worker or servant.
One of the earliest recorded individuals named Lad was Lad of Winchcomb, an English wool merchant and landowner who lived in the 13th century. He is mentioned in various historical records related to the wool trade in Gloucestershire, England.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Lad de Bracy appeared in the famous novel "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott. Set in 12th-century England, the character Lad de Bracy was depicted as a Norman knight and one of the antagonists in the story.
Another historical figure bearing the name Lad was Lad Vanner, a 16th-century English sailor and explorer. He is recorded as having participated in several voyages to the Americas and the West Indies during the early years of English colonization efforts.
In the realm of literature, one of the most famous characters named Lad is Lad, the faithful collie dog from Albert Payson Terhune's popular book series, which began with the novel "Lad: A Dog" in 1919. This fictional character became an iconic representation of the loyalty and companionship of dogs.
Other notable individuals with the name Lad include Lad Lane (1598-1667), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the 17th century, and Lad Humphries (1844-1905), a Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in the early years of international rugby.
While the name Lad was more commonly used as a term for a young male servant or worker in the past, it has since evolved into a given name in its own right, carrying a sense of youthfulness and energy.
People
Lad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lad as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lad 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Lad a common name?
We classify Lad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lad most popular?
The single biggest year for Lad was 1956, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lad is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 253 people with the name Lad, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,947 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 Lad 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 Lad?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lad on both sides of the split. Of the 250 people counted with this name, 190 were male (76.0%) and 60 were female (24.0%). 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 Lad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lad is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Lad most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (151 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 Lad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lad 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 Lad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lad 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 Lad 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 Lad?
You can see how many people have the name Lad on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.