Schuyler
A Dutch surname meaning "scholar" or "studious person".
Name Census estimates that about 4,760 living Americans carry the first name Schuyler. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Schuyler today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Schuyler births was 1993 (182 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Schuyler. 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
4.8K
~ 1 in 72,007 Americans
Peak year
1993
182 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,633
Tracked since 1880
Census
Schuyler in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,370 people with the first name Schuyler, which placed it at #4,328 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
#4,328
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,370 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schuyler
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Schuyler is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Schuyler 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 Schuyler at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.5% · 3,431
- Black or African American8.5% · 373
- Two or more races5.3% · 231
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 197
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 48
Gender
Gender distribution for Schuyler
Schuyler is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 5,465 total registrations, 4,160 (76.1%) were male and 1,305 (23.9%) were female.
Schuyler as a male name
- Ranked #7,633 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (129 births)
Schuyler as a female name
- Ranked #8,321 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (61 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Schuyler on both sides of the split. Of the 4,367 people counted with this name, 3,173 were male (72.7%) and 1,194 were female (27.3%).
Popularity
Schuyler: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Schuyler from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,654 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Schuyler 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 Schuyler during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Schuylers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Schuyler, while Wisconsin, Utah, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 56 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Schuyler
The name Schuyler has its origins in the Dutch language and culture, tracing back to the 17th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "schuilen," which means "to shelter" or "to take refuge." This name was initially associated with individuals who provided shelter or protection to others.
During the Dutch colonization of the Americas, particularly in what is now known as New York, the name Schuyler gained prominence. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name was Philip Schuyler, a prominent Dutch-American military officer and statesman, born in 1733. He played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War and served as a major general in the Continental Army.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Philip John Schuyler, born in 1768, who was an American politician and diplomat. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was later appointed as the United States Minister to Great Britain.
In the realm of literature, Schuyler was the name of a character in Alexander Hamilton's biography by Ron Chernow, a work that inspired the critically acclaimed Broadway musical "Hamilton." The character of Philip Schuyler, portrayed as Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law, represented the influential Dutch-American family of the same name.
Moving into the 20th century, Schuyler Colfax, born in 1823, was an American journalist and politician who served as the 17th Vice President of the United States under Ulysses S. Grant's administration from 1869 to 1873.
Another notable figure was Schuyler Van Rensselaer, born in 1764, who was a prominent American landowner and military officer. He served as a major general in the New York Militia during the War of 1812 and is remembered for his leadership in the Battle of Queenston Heights.
While the name Schuyler has Dutch origins, it has gained recognition across various cultures and regions, particularly in the United States, where it has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to history and society.
People
Schuyler + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Schuyler as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Schuyler: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Schuyler?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,760 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Schuyler 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 72,007 US residents.
Is Schuyler a common name?
We classify Schuyler as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,465 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Schuyler most popular?
The single biggest year for Schuyler was 1993, when 182 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Schuyler 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 Schuyler in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,370 people with the name Schuyler, or 1.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,328 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 Schuyler 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 Schuyler?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Schuyler on both sides of the split. Of the 4,367 people counted with this name, 3,173 were male (72.7%) and 1,194 were female (27.3%). 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 Schuyler?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Schuyler is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Schuyler most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Schuyler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.5% (3,431 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 Schuyler in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Schuyler a male name?
Yes, 76.1% of people registered as Schuyler 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 Schuyler still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Schuyler 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 Schuyler 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 Schuyler?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Schuyler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.