Little
Small in size but not inferior in value.
Name Census estimates that about 1,047 living Americans carry the first name Little. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Little today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Little births was 1975 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Little. 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 327,368 Americans
Peak year
1975
41 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,479
Tracked since 1883
Census
Little in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,520 people with the first name Little, which placed it at #6,386 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
#6,386
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,520 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Little
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Little is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (16.9%). 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 Little 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 Little at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.6% · 1,148
- Black or African American28.1% · 709
- Hispanic or Latino16.9% · 425
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 87
- Two or more races3.5% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 64
Gender
Gender distribution for Little
Little leans heavily male at 87.8% of total registrations, but 218 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Little as a male name
- Ranked #13,479 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1975 (32 births)
Little as a female name
- Ranked #14,758 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1980 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Little on both sides of the split. Of the 2,521 people counted with this name, 1,439 were male (57.1%) and 1,082 were female (42.9%).
Popularity
Little: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Little from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 295 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Little 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 Little during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Littles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas recorded the most babies named Little, while South Carolina, Florida, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Little
The given name Little is a descriptive nickname dating back to the Middle English period, around the 13th century. It likely originated as a diminutive form of names like Lyttel or Lytel, which were derived from the Old English word "lyt" meaning small or little. The name was often used to describe a person of short stature or someone who was the youngest child in a family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Little can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholders in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as a surname, referring to individuals who were either literally small in size or were the younger members of their families.
In the 14th century, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned a character named "Littel John" in his famous work, The Canterbury Tales. This character was a member of Robin Hood's band of merry men, known for his diminutive size but great skill with a bow and arrow.
During the 16th century, the name Little was associated with several notable figures. One example is the English poet and playwright John Lyly (1554-1606), who was known for his witty and ornate style of writing. Another was the English botanist and herbalist John Gerard (1545-1612), who wrote one of the most influential botanical works of his time, known as Gerard's Herbal.
In the 17th century, the name Little gained prominence through the works of the English philosopher and empiricist John Locke (1632-1704). Locke's influential writings on political philosophy, education, and human understanding helped shape the foundations of modern democratic thought.
Another notable figure with the name Little was the American Revolutionary War soldier and spy Enoch Little (1743-1818). Little played a crucial role in gathering intelligence for the Continental Army during the war, and his exploits were celebrated in contemporary accounts and historical records.
Throughout history, the name Little has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, from poets and writers to scientists and military figures. While it may have originated as a nickname or descriptive term, it has since become a respected given name in its own right, carrying a sense of humility and modesty.
People
Little + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Little 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
Little: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Little?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,047 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Little 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 327,368 US residents.
Is Little a common name?
We classify Little as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,791 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Little most popular?
The single biggest year for Little was 1975, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Little is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Little in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,520 people with the name Little, or 0.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,386 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 Little 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 Little?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Little on both sides of the split. Of the 2,521 people counted with this name, 1,439 were male (57.1%) and 1,082 were female (42.9%). 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 Little?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Little is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (16.9%). 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 Little most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Little in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (1,148 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 Little in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Little a male name?
Yes, 87.8% of people registered as Little 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 Little still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Little 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 Little 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 Americans are named Little?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.