Ladd
A masculine name meaning "path" or "journey" of English origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,021 living Americans carry the first name Ladd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ladd today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ladd births was 1961 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ladd. 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.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 335,705 Americans
Peak year
1961
38 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,790
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Ladd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ladd from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 242 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Ladd remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ladd 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 Ladd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ladds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Ladd, while Ohio, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ladd
The given name Ladd is derived from the Old English word "lad", which means a boy, a youth or a servant. It originated in the Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain and was primarily used as a short form of names like Laddric or Laddbroke. The earliest recorded use of Ladd as a given name dates back to the 12th century.
In the Middle Ages, Ladd was a common name among the lower classes, particularly servants and farmhands. It was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that the name gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes. One notable historical figure with the name Ladd was Ladd Everett (1581-1661), an English soldier who fought in the English Civil War on the side of the Parliamentarians.
Another famous bearer of the name was Ladd Wilson (1738-1806), an American Revolutionary War soldier who served in the Continental Army under George Washington. He is remembered for his bravery and dedication to the cause of American independence.
In the 19th century, Ladd became a popular name among the Quakers and other religious groups in the United States. One prominent Quaker with the name was Ladd Grubb (1810-1892), a renowned abolitionist and advocate for women's rights.
The name also appeared in literature, with Ladd Finch being a character in the classic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Ladd Finch was the father of the protagonist, Scout Finch, and was portrayed as a respected lawyer and moral figure in the town of Maycomb.
In more recent times, Ladd Drummond (1938-2015) was an American rancher and businessman who co-founded the Drummond Land and Cattle Company in Oklahoma. He was also the father of Ree Drummond, the popular blogger and author known as "The Pioneer Woman".
People
Ladd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ladd 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
Ladd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ladd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,021 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ladd 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 335,705 US residents.
Is Ladd a common name?
We classify Ladd as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,303 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ladd most popular?
The single biggest year for Ladd was 1961, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ladd is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ladd a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ladd 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.
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.