Shooter
A nickname or occupational name for someone skilled with firearms.
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Shooter. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shooter today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shooter births was 2009 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shooter. 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
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
2009
30 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,881
Tracked since 2002
Census
Shooter in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 246 people with the first name Shooter, which placed it at #33,566 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
#33,566
National first-name rank
People counted
246
246 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shooter
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shooter is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Shooter 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 Shooter at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 189
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.7% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 15
- Two or more races5.7% · 14
- Black or African American3.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Shooter: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shooter from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 163 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shooter 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 Shooter during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shooters live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shooter
The name Shooter has its origins in the English language, and it is believed to have emerged in the 16th century. It is derived from the Old English word "scytta," which means "one who shoots arrows or bolts." This occupation-based name was initially given to archers or individuals who practiced archery, a skill highly valued in medieval times.
During the Middle Ages, archery played a crucial role in warfare and hunting. Skilled archers were highly sought after and held in high regard. The name Shooter was likely bestowed upon those who excelled in this art, becoming a marker of their expertise and profession.
In the early days, the name Shooter appeared in various historical records and documents related to military service and archery competitions. One notable example is Sir John Shooter, who served as a skilled archer in the English army during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).
As time passed, the name Shooter evolved and became more widespread, transcending its initial association with archery. It began to be used as a given name for individuals who displayed exceptional marksmanship or hunting prowess with firearms, reflecting the changing times and technologies.
Throughout history, several individuals have borne the name Shooter, leaving their mark on various fields. One such person was William Shooter (1679-1731), an English mathematician and surveyor who contributed to the field of cartography and surveying techniques.
Another notable figure was John Shooter (1784-1868), a British engineer and inventor who played a significant role in the early development of steam engines and locomotives.
In the realm of literature, James Shooter (1866-1944) was an American author and journalist known for his works depicting life in the American West during the late 19th century.
The name Shooter also found its way into the world of sports. Harry Shooter (1903-1973) was a prominent English cricketer who played for the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in the 1920s and 1930s.
Additionally, Robert Shooter (1923-2006) was an Australian actor and director who made significant contributions to the Australian film and television industry, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.
While the name Shooter has evolved over time, it continues to carry a sense of precision, skill, and marksmanship, reflecting its historical roots and the esteemed qualities associated with those who bore this name.
People
Shooter + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shooter 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
Shooter: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shooter?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shooter 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 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Shooter a common name?
We classify Shooter as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shooter most popular?
The single biggest year for Shooter was 2009, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shooter is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shooter in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 246 people with the name Shooter, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,566 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 Shooter 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 Shooter?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shooter leans strongly male. 230 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Shooter?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shooter is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Shooter most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shooter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (189 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 Shooter in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shooter a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shooter 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 Shooter still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shooter 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 Shooter 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 Shooter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.