Pagan
A name of Latin origin referring to a person from a rural or rustic area.
Name Census estimates that about 48 living Americans carry the first name Pagan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pagan today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pagan births was 1984 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pagan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Pagan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Pagan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
48
~ 1 in 7,140,715 Americans
Peak year
1984
10 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2022 SSA rank
#17,151
Tracked since 1984
Census
Pagan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 172 people with the first name Pagan, which placed it at #42,074 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
#42,074
National first-name rank
People counted
172
172 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pagan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pagan is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.7%) and Black (15.1%). 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 Pagan 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 Pagan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino22.7% · 39
- Black or African American15.1% · 26
- Two or more races3.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Pagan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pagan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 28 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pagan 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 Pagan 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 Pagan
The name Pagan has its origins in ancient Rome, derived from the Latin word "paganus," which referred to a rural dweller or someone living in a village. The term was initially used to describe civilians in contrast to military personnel, but it later took on a connotation of being a non-Christian or follower of traditional religious practices.
In the early days of Christianity, as the new faith spread across the Roman Empire, the term "pagan" was used to describe those who still adhered to the old polytheistic religions and refused to convert to Christianity. As Christianity became more dominant, the word "pagan" acquired a negative connotation, often associated with superstition, idolatry, and uncivilized beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pagan can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who lived from around 56 to 120 AD. He mentions a Germanic tribe called the Pagani, which some scholars believe may have been the origin of the term "pagan."
In the Middle Ages, the name Pagan was relatively uncommon, as it carried negative connotations due to its association with non-Christian beliefs. However, there are a few notable individuals from this period who bore the name.
Pagan the Butler (c. 1200-1268) was a renowned English legal scholar and chief adviser to King Henry III. He played a significant role in the development of English common law and is remembered for his work on legal treatises.
Pagan de la Guzmana (c. 1320-1369) was a Spanish noblewoman and the mistress of King Alfonso XI of Castile. She was influential in the royal court and is known for her beauty and political influence.
Pagan Blank (c. 1510-1570) was a German artist and engraver active in the Renaissance period. He is best known for his intricate woodcuts and engravings depicting biblical scenes and allegorical subjects.
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, the use of the name Pagan became more widespread, particularly among intellectuals and scholars who were interested in reviving classical learning and ideas.
Pagan Tomassi (1548-1626) was an Italian philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on the relationship between reason and faith. He was a proponent of reconciling classical philosophy with Christian theology.
Pagan Cavendish (1731-1809) was an English philosopher and scientist who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism. He is best known for his work on the concept of electrical potential and the construction of early electrical instruments.
While the name Pagan has its roots in antiquity and was once associated with non-Christian beliefs, it has evolved over time and has been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures. The name's unique history and meaning have made it a distinct and intriguing choice for some parents.
People
Pagan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pagan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pagan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pagan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 48 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pagan 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 7,140,715 US residents.
Is Pagan a common name?
We classify Pagan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pagan most popular?
The single biggest year for Pagan was 1984, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pagan is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pagan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 172 people with the name Pagan, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,074 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 Pagan 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 Pagan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Pagan on both sides of the split. Of the 169 people counted with this name, 38 were male (22.5%) and 131 were female (77.5%). 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 Pagan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pagan is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.7%) and Black (15.1%). 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 Pagan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pagan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.1% (100 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 Pagan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pagan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pagan in the SSA data are female. 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 Pagan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pagan 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 Pagan 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 are named Pagan?
Find out how many people share the name Pagan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.