Nesbitt
Of Scottish origin, a topographic name for someone residing near a nest or crag.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Nesbitt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nesbitt today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nesbitt births was 1930 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nesbitt. 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 Nesbitt is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Nesbitts were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nesbitt. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1930
8 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1951 SSA rank
#4,093
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Nesbitt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nesbitt from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Nesbitt remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nesbitt 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 Nesbitt 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 Nesbitt
Nesbitt is an English given name of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English words "nesu" (nose) and "byht" (bend or curve). The name can be traced back to the early medieval period, when it was likely used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a distinctive nose shape or curvature.
The earliest known record of the name Nesbitt dates back to the 12th century, appearing in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of feudal homage rolls from Scotland during the reign of King Edward I of England. One of the notable figures bearing this name was Sir Nesbitt of Calder, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
In the 15th century, Nesbitt was recorded as a surname in various Scottish charters and legal documents. It is possible that the name transitioned from a given name to a surname during this period, as was common with many descriptive nicknames.
One of the most famous historical figures with the given name Nesbitt was Nesbitt Balfour (1519-1591), a Scottish theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. He was a contemporary of John Knox and served as the minister of the Kirk of St. Giles in Edinburgh.
In the 17th century, Nesbitt Maitland (1629-1705) was a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord President of the Court of Session, the highest civil court in Scotland.
During the 18th century, Nesbitt Burney (1732-1805) was an English composer and musician who worked as a music teacher and wrote several operas and instrumental works.
In the 19th century, Nesbitt Willoughby Moore (1839-1919) was a British army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and later became a prominent author and military historian.
Another notable figure with the given name Nesbitt was Nesbitt Hawthorne (1863-1944), an American author and journalist who wrote several books on topics ranging from history to travel and adventure.
People
Nesbitt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nesbitt as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nesbitt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nesbitt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nesbitt 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Nesbitt a common name?
We classify Nesbitt as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nesbitt most popular?
The single biggest year for Nesbitt was 1930, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nesbitt is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nesbitt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nesbitt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nesbitt 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 Nesbitt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nesbitt 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 Nesbitt 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Nesbitt as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Nesbitt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.