President
One who presides or rules over others, derived from the Latin "praesidere" meaning "to preside over".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name President. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named President today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of President births was 1919 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for President. 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 President. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1919
7 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2018 SSA rank
#11,799
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
President: popularity over time
The SSA tracks President from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 22 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
President 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 President during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Presidents live
Origin
Meaning and history of President
The name President is an English word that was derived from the Latin word "praesidens," meaning "one who presides over." It originated as a title for an official who presided over a governing body or organization, such as a council or a court.
The earliest recorded use of the term "president" dates back to the 14th century, when it was used to refer to the presiding officer of a legislative or judicial body. In the 15th century, the term began to be used more broadly to refer to the head or leader of an organization, such as a university or a company.
The name President has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest examples is George Washington, who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in American history and played a crucial role in the nation's founding.
Another famous President was Abraham Lincoln, who served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 to 1865. He is best known for leading the country during the American Civil War and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which helped end slavery in the United States.
In more recent history, John F. Kennedy, who served as the 35th President of the United States from 1961 to 1963, is also a notable figure associated with the name President. He is remembered for his charismatic leadership and his efforts to advance civil rights and promote world peace.
Outside of the United States, Nelson Mandela, who served as the first President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, is another famous figure associated with the name President. He is widely regarded as a symbol of resistance against apartheid and played a pivotal role in the transition to a multi-racial democracy in South Africa.
Finally, Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, is often referred to as the "President" of the Indian National Congress, which he led from 1920 to 1934. Although he never held an official presidential title, his leadership and advocacy for non-violent resistance made him a revered figure in India and around the world.
People
President + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with President 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
President: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named President?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for President 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is President a common name?
We classify President as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45 babies have been registered with this name.
When was President most popular?
The single biggest year for President was 1919, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living President is about 23 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 President in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is President a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as President 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 President still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded President 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 President 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 are named President?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.