Psalm
A word of Hebrew origin meaning "sacred song" or "poem".
Name Census estimates that about 838 living Americans carry the first name Psalm. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Psalm today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Psalm births was 2024 (235 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Psalm. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Psalm with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
838
~ 1 in 409,015 Americans
Peak year
2024
235 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,173
Tracked since 1999
Census
Psalm in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 303 people with the first name Psalm, which placed it at #29,290 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
#29,290
National first-name rank
People counted
303
303 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
34.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Psalm
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Psalm is Black at 34.7%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.5%). 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 Psalm 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 Psalm at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American34.7% · 105
- White19.8% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 40
- Two or more races11.2% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Psalm
Psalm is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 844 total registrations, 567 (67.2%) were male and 277 (32.8%) were female.
Psalm as a male name
- Ranked #1,173 in 2024
- 177 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (177 births)
Psalm as a female name
- Ranked #2,868 in 2024
- 58 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (58 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Psalm on both sides of the split. Of the 298 people counted with this name, 145 were male (48.7%) and 153 were female (51.3%).
Popularity
Psalm: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Psalm from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 634 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
Psalm 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 Psalm during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Psalms live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Psalm, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Psalm
The name Psalm is derived from the Greek word "psalmos," which means "song sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument." This word itself comes from the ancient Greek verb "psallein," meaning "to pluck or twang a string." The name has its origins in the biblical Book of Psalms, a collection of sacred poems and hymns found in the Old Testament.
The Psalms were originally composed in ancient Hebrew and were meant to be sung or chanted during religious ceremonies and worship services. The name Psalm is closely associated with the biblical figure King David, who is traditionally attributed as the author of many of the psalms found in the Old Testament. In the Christian tradition, the Psalms are an integral part of the liturgy and are often recited or sung during Mass and other religious services.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Psalm was Psalm West, an English writer and poet who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1585 and is known for his work "The Psalms of David Translated into Lyric Verse," published in 1643.
Another notable figure named Psalm was Psalm Isherwood, an English Quaker and religious writer born in 1653. He was a prominent advocate for religious freedom and wrote extensively on Quaker beliefs and practices.
In the 18th century, Psalm Singer was a notable English composer and organist born in 1740. He was known for his contributions to church music and is credited with composing several hymns and anthems.
Psalm Wilbur Moore was an American Baptist minister and educator who lived in the 19th century. Born in 1818, he served as the president of several theological seminaries and was a prominent figure in promoting education among African Americans.
In the 20th century, Psalm Isadora was a notable American modern dancer and choreographer. Born in 1905, she was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and was known for her innovative and groundbreaking choreography.
These examples demonstrate the rich historical and cultural significance of the name Psalm, which is deeply rooted in religious traditions and has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and disciplines throughout the centuries.
People
Psalm + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Psalm 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
Psalm: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Psalm?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 838 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Psalm 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 409,015 US residents.
Is Psalm a common name?
We classify Psalm as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 844 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Psalm most popular?
The single biggest year for Psalm was 2024, when 235 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Psalm is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Psalm in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 303 people with the name Psalm, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,290 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 Psalm 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 Psalm?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Psalm on both sides of the split. Of the 298 people counted with this name, 145 were male (48.7%) and 153 were female (51.3%). 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 Psalm?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Psalm is Black at 34.7%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.5%). 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 Psalm most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Psalm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.7% (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 Psalm in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Psalm a male name?
Yes, 67.2% of people registered as Psalm 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 Psalm still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Psalm 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 Psalm 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 called Psalm?
You can see how many Americans are named Psalm on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.