Reason
A unisex name of French origin meaning "faculty of logical thought".
Name Census estimates that about 234 living Americans carry the first name Reason. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Reason today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reason births was 2024 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reason. 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
234
~ 1 in 1,464,762 Americans
Peak year
2024
54 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,028
Tracked since 1885
Census
Reason in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 212 people with the first name Reason, which placed it at #37,053 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
#37,053
National first-name rank
People counted
212
212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reason
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reason is White at 48.1%. The next largest groups are Black (21.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%). 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 Reason 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 Reason at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.1% · 102
- Black or African American21.2% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.8% · 25
- Two or more races11.8% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Reason
Reason leans heavily male at 80.1% of total registrations, but 53 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Reason as a male name
- Ranked #3,028 in 2024
- 41 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (41 births)
Reason as a female name
- Ranked #8,293 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Reason on both sides of the split. Of the 214 people counted with this name, 151 were male (70.6%) and 63 were female (29.4%).
Popularity
Reason: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reason from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 139 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
Reason 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 Reason during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reasons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Reason
The given name Reason has its origins in the English language, derived from the noun "reason" which means the capacity for rational thought, the ability to think logically and draw conclusions. The name itself is believed to have emerged in the late 16th or early 17th century, during the Enlightenment period when rational thinking and scientific inquiry were highly valued.
Reason was likely initially used as a name to reflect the ideals of reason, logic, and intellectual pursuit. It may have been chosen by parents who wished to instill these values in their child or to represent their own philosophical leanings. The name's association with the Enlightenment suggests a connection to the intellectual and cultural movements of that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reason can be found in the writings of the English philosopher John Locke, who lived from 1632 to 1704. Locke's work, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," published in 1689, explored the concept of reason and its role in human knowledge and understanding.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Reason. One such person was Reason Bradbury, an English Puritan minister who lived from 1614 to 1689. He was known for his religious writings and his involvement in the Puritan movement in England during the 17th century.
Another historical figure with the name Reason was Reason Wilkinson, an American Quaker minister who lived from 1757 to 1843. He was a prominent advocate for abolition and traveled extensively, preaching against slavery and promoting social reforms.
In the field of literature, Reason Stearn was an American poet and writer who lived from 1915 to 1988. He was known for his works exploring themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition.
Reason Weed, an American lawyer and politician, lived from 1838 to 1909. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of New York from 1879 to 1881.
Lastly, Reason Cluff, born in 1828 and died in 1901, was a Mormon pioneer and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He played a significant role in the settlement and development of communities in the American West during the late 19th century.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples demonstrate the historical presence of the name Reason and its association with individuals who embodied the ideals of rational thought, intellectual pursuits, and social progress.
People
Reason + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reason 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
Reason: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reason?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 234 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reason 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 1,464,762 US residents.
Is Reason a common name?
We classify Reason as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reason most popular?
The single biggest year for Reason was 2024, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reason is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reason in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 212 people with the name Reason, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,053 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 Reason 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 Reason?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Reason on both sides of the split. Of the 214 people counted with this name, 151 were male (70.6%) and 63 were female (29.4%). 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 Reason?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reason is White at 48.1%. The next largest groups are Black (21.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%). 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 Reason most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reason in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.1% (102 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 Reason in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reason a male name?
Yes, 80.1% of people registered as Reason 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 Reason still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reason 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 Reason 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 common is the name Reason?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.