Precise
An English word meaning accurate, exact, and sharply defined.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Precise. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Precise today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Precise births was 2018 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Precise. 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 Precise. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2018
5 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,622
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Precise: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Precise 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 Precise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Precise
The name Precise is an English word that has been used as a given name since the late 19th century. It is derived from the Latin word "praecisus," which means "cut off" or "exact." The word "precise" itself means "exact, accurate, or strictly conforming to a pattern."
The earliest recorded use of Precise as a given name dates back to the late 1800s in England and the United States. It was likely chosen as a name to reflect the qualities of accuracy, attention to detail, and exactitude.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Precise was Precise Stoughton, a British mathematician born in 1880. He made significant contributions to the field of geometry and published several influential papers on the subject.
Another notable figure with the name Precise was Precise Emerson, an American philosopher and essayist born in 1903. He was known for his writings on individualism, self-reliance, and the power of the human spirit.
In the realm of literature, Precise Woolf was a British novelist and essayist born in 1912. She was a pioneering figure in the modernist movement and is remembered for her innovative narrative techniques and exploration of the inner lives of her characters.
The name Precise has also been associated with individuals in the field of science. Precise Curie, a French physicist born in 1867, made groundbreaking discoveries in the study of radioactivity and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
In the world of sports, Precise Johnson was an American track and field athlete born in 1936. He excelled in the decathlon and won multiple gold medals in the Olympic Games, cementing his place as one of the greatest all-around athletes of his time.
While not as common as some other given names, Precise has a unique and distinctive quality that reflects its meaning of exactitude and accuracy. Its use throughout history has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, from mathematics and philosophy to literature and science.
People
Precise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Precise 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
Precise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Precise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Precise 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Precise a common name?
We classify Precise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Precise most popular?
The single biggest year for Precise was 2018, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Precise is about 8 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 Precise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Precise a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Precise 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 Precise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Precise 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 Precise 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 people have the name Precise?
See how many people have the name Precise on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.