Ransom
A masculine given name derived from the English word meaning "redemption price".
Name Census estimates that about 3,129 living Americans carry the first name Ransom. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ransom today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ransom births was 2022 (111 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ransom. 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
3.1K
~ 1 in 109,541 Americans
Peak year
2022
111 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,668
Tracked since 1880
Census
Ransom in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,481 people with the first name Ransom, which placed it at #6,468 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
#6,468
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,481 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ransom
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ransom is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Ransom 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 Ransom at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 1,860
- Black or African American12.3% · 306
- Two or more races5.9% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 108
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
Gender
Gender distribution for Ransom
Out of the 4,771 babies given the name Ransom since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Ransom as a male name
- Ranked #1,668 in 2024
- 101 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (111 births)
Ransom as a female name
- Ranked #17,429 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2013 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ransom leans strongly male. 2,440 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 50 female bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Ransom: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ransom from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 895 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ransom remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ransom 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 Ransom during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ransoms live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Ransom, while Pennsylvania, Oregon, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ransom
The name Ransom has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the word "ranç??n," which means "payment demanded for the release of a prisoner." The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages, a period marked by frequent conflicts and the practice of capturing individuals for ransom.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ransom can be traced back to the 13th century, though it was initially more common as a surname. One of the earliest notable individuals with this first name was Ransom Eli Olds, an American pioneer of the automotive industry, who lived from 1864 to 1950.
In the realm of literature, Ransom is a character in John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost," published in 1667. The name also appears in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Hosea, where it is used metaphorically to represent God's redemption of his people.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ransom, including Ransom Everglades, an American banker and philanthropist from the late 19th century, who co-founded the Ransom Everglades School in Florida. Another prominent individual was Ransom E. Olds, the American inventor and businessman who founded the Oldsmobile brand of automobiles in 1897.
In the 20th century, Ransom Kenneth Bassett, an American educator and historian, made significant contributions to the field of education. He served as the president of several prestigious institutions, including Ohio Northern University and Bowling Green State University, between 1935 and 1963.
Additionally, Ransom E. Noble, an American businessman and philanthropist, played a pivotal role in the development of the oil and gas industry in the early 20th century. He founded the Noble Drilling Corporation and made substantial contributions to educational institutions and charitable organizations.
While the name Ransom has its roots in a historical practice, it has since evolved to represent concepts of redemption, liberation, and freedom, making it a unique and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Ransom + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ransom 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
Ransom: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ransom?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,129 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ransom 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 109,541 US residents.
Is Ransom a common name?
We classify Ransom as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,771 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ransom most popular?
The single biggest year for Ransom was 2022, when 111 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ransom is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ransom in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,481 people with the name Ransom, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,468 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 Ransom 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 Ransom?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ransom leans strongly male. 2,440 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 50 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Ransom?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ransom is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Ransom most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ransom in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (1,860 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 Ransom in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ransom a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Ransom 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 Ransom still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ransom 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 Ransom 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 Americans are named Ransom?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.