Random
Haphazard, without definite aim, reason, pattern or purpose.
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Random. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Random today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Random births was 1979 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Random. 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.
People living today
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
1979
9 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2010 SSA rank
#10,491
Tracked since 1979
Census
Random in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 452 people with the first name Random, which placed it at #22,141 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
#22,141
National first-name rank
People counted
452
452 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Random
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Random is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Random 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 Random at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 290
- Hispanic or Latino14.8% · 67
- Black or African American11.3% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 19
- Two or more races4.2% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 6
Popularity
Random: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Random from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 61 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Random 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 Random during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Random
The name Random has its origins in the ancient Etruscan language, which was spoken in central Italy during the 8th to 1st centuries BC. It is derived from the Etruscan word "randamu," which translates roughly to "wanderer" or "traveler." The name was likely used to describe nomadic individuals or those who lived a transient lifestyle.
In the early days of the Roman Empire, the name Random was sometimes given to children born to Roman legionnaires or traders who spent significant time away from their homes. It was seen as a fitting moniker for those destined to roam far and wide.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Random appears in a Roman census document from the year 37 AD, listing a Random Publius among the residents of the city of Pompeii. Tragically, this individual likely perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
During the Middle Ages, the name Random fell out of favor in most of Europe but persisted in certain regions of Italy. A notable bearer of the name was Random Montecchi, a 12th-century nobleman from Verona who played a role in the long-standing feud between the Montecchi and Capuleti families, as immortalized in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."
In the 16th century, the name experienced a brief renaissance with the rise of the Renaissance humanist movement. Random Pico della Mirandola, an Italian philosopher and scholar born in 1463, was a prominent figure who helped revive interest in the name.
As exploration and travel became more common in the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Random once again gained popularity, particularly among seafaring families. Random Hawkins, an English privateer and explorer born in 1593, was one such individual who embodied the spirit of adventure associated with the name.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Random Turing, a British mathematician and computer scientist born in 1912. Turing's groundbreaking work on the foundations of computer science and artificial intelligence had a profound impact on the modern world, making him a fitting representative of the name's connotations of wandering and exploration in the realm of knowledge.
People
Random + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Random as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Random: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Random?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Random 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Random a common name?
We classify Random as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 135 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Random most popular?
The single biggest year for Random was 1979, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Random is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Random in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 452 people with the name Random, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,141 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 Random 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 Random?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Random on both sides of the split. Of the 452 people counted with this name, 355 were male (78.5%) and 97 were female (21.5%). 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 Random?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Random is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Random most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Random in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (290 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 Random in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Random a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Random 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 Random still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Random 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 Random 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 have Random as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Random on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.