Stetson
One with a crown or garland; a proper name of English origin.
Name Census estimates that about 12,882 living Americans carry the first name Stetson. It sits at #155 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Stetson today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stetson births was 2024 (2,349 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stetson. 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
- • Although Stetson is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 84 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Stetson is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
- • Stetson is on the rise. The most recent decade saw more than double the registrations of the decade before it.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,607 Americans
Peak year
2024
2,349 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#155
Tracked since 1930
Gender
Gender distribution for Stetson
Out of the 13,016 babies given the name Stetson since 1880, 99.4% 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.
Stetson as a male name
- Ranked #155 in 2024
- 2,328 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (2,328 births)
Stetson as a female name
- Ranked #5,918 in 2024
- 21 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (22 births)
Popularity
Stetson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stetson from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 7,347 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
Stetson 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 Stetson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stetsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. Texas, Utah, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Stetson, while Alaska, Maine, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 264 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stetson
The name Stetson has its origins in the English language and is derived from the Old English word "stet", which means "place" or "territory". It was initially used as a surname, referring to someone who lived in a particular place or area.
In the late 19th century, the name Stetson gained popularity as a given name, likely inspired by the famous Stetson hat company founded by John B. Stetson in 1865. The Stetson hat became an iconic symbol of the American West, and the name carried connotations of ruggedness and adventure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Stetson as a first name can be found in the late 1800s. Stetson Humphrey (1862-1942) was an American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the lumber industry.
Another notable bearer of the name was Stetson Kennedy (1916-2011), an American author, and human rights activist who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s to expose their activities.
In the realm of sports, Stetson Allie (born 1991) is a professional baseball player who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010.
Stetson Blefko (born 1994) is a Canadian actor best known for his role in the television series "Letterkenny".
Lastly, Stetson White (born 1989) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who has released several albums in the country and Americana genres.
While the name Stetson may have originated as a surname, its use as a given name has been influenced by the iconic Stetson hat brand and the adventurous spirit it represents. The name has been carried by various individuals across different fields, from business and activism to sports and entertainment.
People
Stetson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stetson 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
Stetson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stetson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,882 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stetson 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 26,607 US residents.
Is Stetson a common name?
We classify Stetson as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,016 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stetson most popular?
The single biggest year for Stetson was 2024, when 2,349 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stetson is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Stetson a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Stetson 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.
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.