Lander
One who makes a descent or landing.
Name Census estimates that about 932 living Americans carry the first name Lander. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lander today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lander births was 2022 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lander. 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
932
~ 1 in 367,762 Americans
Peak year
2022
40 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,733
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Lander: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lander from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 280 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lander remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lander 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 Lander during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Landers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lander
The name Lander has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "land," meaning "estate" or "territory." It first emerged as a surname, often given to those who owned or worked on large tracts of land during the Middle Ages in England.
As a given name, Lander likely gained popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries, when many English families began using occupation-based surnames as first names. This practice was particularly common among Puritans and other Protestant groups who sought to distance themselves from traditional saints' names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Lander as a first name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, where a boy named Lander Smythe was christened in 1612.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lander. One of the most famous was Lander Blanchard (1804-1869), an English explorer and naval officer who led expeditions along the Niger River in West Africa in the 1830s and 1840s.
Another prominent figure was Lander Hawes (1842-1914), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1885 to 1889. In the field of literature, Lander Kimball (1904-1997) was an American author and illustrator best known for his children's books, including "The Fuzzy Duck" and "The Littlest Rabbit."
In the realm of sports, Lander Balfour (1903-1992) was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1924 Winter Olympics and later coached several professional teams. More recently, Lander Clemons (born 1990) is an American professional basketball player who has played in various leagues around the world.
While the name Lander has ancient roots, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, perhaps due to its association with a specific occupation or social class. Nevertheless, it has endured as a unique and distinctive name, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and eras.
People
Lander + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lander 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
Lander: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lander?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 932 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lander 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 367,762 US residents.
Is Lander a common name?
We classify Lander as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,121 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lander most popular?
The single biggest year for Lander was 2022, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lander is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lander a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lander 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.