Pope
Of Latin origin meaning "father" or "leader of the Catholic Church".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Pope. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pope today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pope births was 1918 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pope. 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 Pope. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1918
12 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,695
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Pope: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pope from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 34 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pope 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 Pope during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Popes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pope
The name Pope is derived from the Latin word "papa," which means "father." It is believed to have originated in the early Christian era, when the term was used as a respectful address for bishops and other high-ranking clergy members. Over time, the title "Pope" became exclusively associated with the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pope can be traced back to the late 4th century. One of the earliest known figures to bear this name was Pope Siricius, who served as the Bishop of Rome from 384 to 399 AD. He is notable for issuing several important decrees that helped solidify the authority of the papacy and establish certain church practices.
Another notable Pope was Pope Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Great, who reigned from 590 to 604 AD. He is credited with restructuring the liturgy, promoting the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, and establishing the Gregorian chant, a type of sacred music that is still used in Catholic services today.
Pope Innocent III, who served from 1198 to 1216 AD, was one of the most influential and powerful popes in history. He played a significant role in the Fourth Crusade, asserted papal authority over secular rulers, and convened the Fourth Lateran Council, which introduced important reforms within the Catholic Church.
Pope Julius II, who reigned from 1503 to 1513 AD, is renowned for his patronage of the arts and his role in the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He commissioned some of the most celebrated artists of the Renaissance, including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante, to work on various projects during his pontificate.
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła in 1920 and reigning from 1978 to 2005, was the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years. He played a pivotal role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and was a vocal advocate for human rights and social justice. His pontificate was marked by extensive travels around the world, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
People
Pope + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pope 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
Pope: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pope?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pope 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Pope a common name?
We classify Pope as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 78 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pope most popular?
The single biggest year for Pope was 1918, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pope is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pope a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pope 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.
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.