Pleas
From the Greek word "plesis", meaning fullness or abundance.
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Pleas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pleas today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pleas births was 1916 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pleas. 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 Pleas is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pleas' were born before 1961.
People living today
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
1916
25 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,201
Tracked since 1880
Census
Pleas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 204 people with the first name Pleas, which placed it at #37,948 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
#37,948
National first-name rank
People counted
204
204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pleas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pleas is Black at 51.5%. The next largest groups are White (45.6%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Pleas 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 Pleas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.5% · 105
- White45.6% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 4
- Two or more races1.0% · 2
Popularity
Pleas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pleas from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 182 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pleas 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 Pleas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pleas' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Pleas, while Texas, Kentucky, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pleas
The given name Pleas is an English name derived from the Old French word "plais," which means "pleasure" or "delight." This name can be traced back to the medieval period, specifically the 12th and 13th centuries, when it was used primarily in England and parts of France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pleas can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name Pleas is mentioned in this document as a personal name belonging to a landowner or tenant.
In the late 12th century, the name Pleas appeared in the works of renowned English chronicler and historian, William of Newburgh. He mentions a character named Pleas in his historical accounts, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Pleas was relatively uncommon but was occasionally given to individuals, particularly in England. One notable figure who bore this name was Pleas Corbett, an English knight who lived in the 14th century and served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, the name Pleas gained some prominence with the birth of Pleas Pett, an English shipwright and naval administrator who worked for the English Royal Navy during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. Pett was responsible for designing and constructing several notable ships, including the Prince Royal and the Sovereign of the Seas.
Another historical figure with the name Pleas was Pleas Wynell, an English Puritan minister and author who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Wynell wrote several religious works and was known for his staunch Puritan beliefs and advocacy for reform within the Church of England.
During the 17th century, the name Pleas was also used in the American colonies. One example is Pleas Heathcote, an English-born American merchant and landowner who settled in New York and played a significant role in the early development of Westchester County.
While the name Pleas has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been borne by a few notable individuals across different time periods and regions, primarily in England and its colonies. The name's origins can be traced back to the medieval era, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of that time.
People
Pleas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pleas 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
Pleas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pleas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pleas 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Pleas a common name?
We classify Pleas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 831 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pleas most popular?
The single biggest year for Pleas was 1916, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pleas is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pleas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 204 people with the name Pleas, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,948 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 Pleas 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 Pleas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pleas appears almost entirely male. Of the 204 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Pleas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pleas is Black at 51.5%. The next largest groups are White (45.6%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Pleas most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Pleas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.5% (105 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 Pleas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pleas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pleas 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 Pleas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pleas 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 Pleas 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 Pleas?
Find out how many Americans are named Pleas on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.