Peleg
A masculine name derived from Hebrew meaning "division" or "portion".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Peleg. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Peleg today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peleg births was 2016 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peleg. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Peleg. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2016
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,578
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Peleg: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peleg from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peleg 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 Peleg 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 Peleg
The name Peleg is a Hebrew name that can be traced back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "palag" which means "to divide" or "to split".
In the Book of Genesis, Peleg is mentioned as a descendant of Noah and the son of Eber. It is said that during his lifetime, the earth was divided or the continents were separated, hence his name Peleg. This is recorded in Genesis 10:25, "And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Peleg was in the Hebrew Bible, which was written between the 8th and 2nd centuries BCE. However, it is believed that the name was in use even before that, as the biblical text refers to events from much earlier times.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Peleg. One of the earliest was Peleg, a Jewish scholar and commentator who lived in the 3rd century CE and wrote on the Mishnah, a central text of Judaism.
Another prominent figure was Peleg ben Ayyub, a 10th-century Jewish scholar and poet from Spain. He was known for his works on Hebrew grammar and poetry.
In more recent times, Peleg Benedictsen (1763-1847) was a Danish theologian and Bishop of Aalborg in Denmark. He was known for his work in promoting education and religious reforms.
Peleg Hasson (1915-2001) was an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) who served as the Minister of Religious Affairs and Minister of the Interior.
Peleg Rosenblatt (1884-1976) was a renowned cantor and composer of Jewish liturgical music who was born in Russia and later immigrated to the United States.
The name Peleg, while not as common today as it once was, still holds a significant place in history and is deeply rooted in ancient Hebrew tradition and biblical narratives.
People
Peleg + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peleg 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
Peleg: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peleg?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peleg 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Peleg a common name?
We classify Peleg as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peleg most popular?
The single biggest year for Peleg was 2016, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peleg is about 7 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 Peleg in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Peleg a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Peleg 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 Peleg still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Peleg 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 Peleg 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 Americans are named Peleg?
See how many Americans are named Peleg on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.