Sprague
From an Old English surname likely meaning "lives in a spruce grove".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Sprague. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sprague today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sprague births was 1922 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sprague. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sprague. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1922
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1922 SSA rank
#4,868
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Sprague: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sprague 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 Sprague during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sprague
The name Sprague is an English surname that has been used as a given name, particularly in North America. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English word "spræc," which means "speech" or "discourse." This suggests that the name might have originally referred to someone who was particularly eloquent or skilled in communication.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sprague can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a surname in the form "Sprach." This indicates that the name has been in use for at least a millennium, although its adoption as a given name is more recent.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Sprague. One of the earliest was Sir Edward Sprague (c. 1550–1628), an English landowner and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I.
Another prominent figure was William Sprague (1799–1856), an American politician and businessman who served as the 14th Governor of Rhode Island from 1838 to 1839. He played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in New England.
In the field of literature, Kate Sprague (1858–1936) was an American writer and poet, best known for her poetry collections "Sonnets of a Dreamer" and "The Masque of Venice."
Frank Julian Sprague (1857–1934) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who made notable contributions to the development of electric railways and electric motors. He is credited with developing the first successful electric traction motor for streetcars.
John Sprague (1923–2020) was an American actor and playwright, known for his roles in films such as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." He also wrote several plays, including the critically acclaimed "Idiots Delight."
While the name Sprague has its roots in Old English, it has been embraced and adopted across various cultures and communities, particularly in North America, where it has gained popularity as a given name in addition to its use as a surname.
People
Sprague + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sprague 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
Sprague: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sprague?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sprague 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 - US residents.
Is Sprague a common name?
We classify Sprague as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sprague most popular?
The single biggest year for Sprague was 1922, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sprague is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Sprague in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sprague a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sprague 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 Sprague still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sprague 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 Sprague 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Sprague?
Want to know how many people share the name Sprague? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.