Letcher
Of English origin, referring to an occupation as a lector or reader.
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Letcher. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Letcher today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Letcher births was 1927 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Letcher. 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 Letcher is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Letchers were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Letcher. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1927
16 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1974 SSA rank
#4,436
Tracked since 1888
Census
Letcher in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Letcher, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Letcher
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Letcher is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Letcher 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 Letcher at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.3% · 102
- Black or African American21.4% · 31
- Two or more races4.1% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Letcher: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Letcher from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Letcher 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 Letcher during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Letchers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Letcher
The given name Letcher has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the 5th century. It is derived from the word "lecce," which means "stream" or "brook." The name was likely given to individuals who lived near a small stream or brook, indicating a connection to a geographical location.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, between the 5th and 11th centuries, names were often descriptive and reflected the environment or personal characteristics of the individual. The name Letcher is believed to have emerged in this context, although there are no specific historical records or ancient texts that directly mention its usage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Letcher dates back to the late 12th century, when a man named Letcher de Brokesburn was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1189. The Pipe Rolls were financial records kept by the English Exchequer, and the inclusion of this name suggests that it was in use at that time.
Throughout history, a few notable individuals have borne the name Letcher. In the 14th century, Letcher de Wynchecumbe was a prominent landowner and nobleman in Gloucestershire, England. Records from 1327 show that he held significant land holdings and was involved in local governance.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Letcher Sampson (1545-1619) was an English clergyman and author. He served as the rector of St. Andrew's Church in Holborn, London, and wrote several religious works, including a commentary on the Book of Proverbs.
In the 18th century, Letcher Norton (1716-1786) was a British military officer who served in the Royal Navy. He participated in several naval battles during the Seven Years' War and later became a Member of Parliament for the town of Milborne Port in Somerset.
In the 19th century, Letcher Townes (1808-1888) was an American lawyer and politician from Virginia. He served as the 23rd Governor of Virginia from 1864 to 1865, during the final months of the American Civil War.
Another notable individual with the name Letcher was Letcher Lambuth (1833-1920), an American Methodist missionary and bishop. He played a significant role in establishing Methodism in China and Japan, and he served as a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
While the name Letcher has its roots in Old English and was used throughout various periods in history, it is not a commonly encountered given name in modern times. However, its historical significance and connection to a geographical description provide an interesting glimpse into the naming traditions and cultural influences of the past.
People
Letcher + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Letcher 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
Letcher: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Letcher?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Letcher 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Letcher a common name?
We classify Letcher as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 345 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Letcher most popular?
The single biggest year for Letcher was 1927, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Letcher is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Letcher in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Letcher, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Letcher 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 Letcher?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Letcher leans strongly male. 133 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 7 female bearers (5.0%). 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 Letcher?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Letcher is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Letcher most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Letcher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (102 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 Letcher in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Letcher a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Letcher 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 Letcher still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Letcher 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 Letcher 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 have Letcher as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Letcher, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.