Paget
Of uncertain meaning and origin, possibly from the French place name Pageville.
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Paget. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paget today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paget births was 1953 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paget. 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 Paget is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pagets were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Paget. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1953
8 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1972 SSA rank
#7,062
Tracked since 1948
Popularity
Paget: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paget from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Paget remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paget 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 Paget 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 Paget
The name Paget has its origins in the Old French language, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "page," which referred to a young attendant or servant boy. This name was particularly popular among the French nobility, who often had pages in their service.
Paget is also thought to have connections to the Latin word "pagus," meaning a rural district or village. This suggests that the name may have been used to identify individuals from certain regions or localities in medieval France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Paget can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates in England commissioned by William the Conquer in 1086. The name appears as "Paget" or "Pagett," indicating its presence in Norman England following the conquest.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Paget. One of the most famous was William Paget (1506-1563), an English statesman who served as Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State under King Henry VIII and Edward VI. He played a significant role in the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England.
Another prominent figure was Sir Henry Paget (1768-1854), a British diplomat and politician who served as Ambassador to Austria and later as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He was also a member of the House of Lords and held the title of Baron Paget of Beaudesert.
In the field of medicine, Sir James Paget (1814-1899) was a renowned English surgeon and pathologist. He made significant contributions to the understanding of diseases such as breast cancer and bone disorders, and his name is associated with several medical conditions, including Paget's disease of the bone.
The name Paget also has literary connections. Violet Paget (1856-1935), better known by her pen name Vernon Lee, was a British writer and critic who explored themes of aestheticism and the supernatural in her works.
Lastly, Sidney Paget (1860-1908) was a British illustrator best known for his drawings of Sherlock Holmes, which accompanied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous stories in The Strand Magazine. His depictions played a significant role in shaping the iconic image of the legendary detective.
People
Paget + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paget 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
Paget: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paget?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paget 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 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Paget a common name?
We classify Paget as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 44 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paget most popular?
The single biggest year for Paget was 1953, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paget is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paget a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paget 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.
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.