Titus
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "defender" or "protector".
Name Census estimates that about 24,446 living Americans carry the first name Titus. It sits at #383 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Titus today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Titus births was 2015 (1,325 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Titus. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Titus with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
24K
~ 1 in 14,021 Americans
Peak year
2015
1,325 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#383
Tracked since 1880
Census
Titus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,489 people with the first name Titus, which placed it at #1,680 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
#1,680
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
18,489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Titus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Titus is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Titus 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 Titus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.9% · 10,158
- Black or African American23.6% · 4,361
- Two or more races7.7% · 1,427
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 1,367
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 944
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 232
Gender
Gender distribution for Titus
Out of the 25,895 babies given the name Titus since 1880, 100.0% 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.
Titus as a male name
- Ranked #383 in 2024
- 843 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (1,325 births)
Titus as a female name
- Ranked #16,073 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1977 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Titus appears almost entirely male. Of the 18,502 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Titus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Titus from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 10,688 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Titus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Titus 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 Titus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Titus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Titus, while Delaware, Connecticut, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 479 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Titus
The name Titus originates from the Latin language and Roman culture, with its earliest known use dating back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "titus," meaning "to honor" or "honorable." The name was popular among the Roman aristocracy and was often given to male children as a sign of respect and esteem.
One of the most well-known historical figures bearing the name Titus was Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the Roman emperor who ruled from 79 AD to 81 AD. He was known for his military achievements, including the successful siege of Jerusalem and the construction of the Colosseum. His reign was marked by prosperity and stability, earning him a reputation as a capable and just ruler.
Another notable figure in history was Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 BC - 184 BC), a Roman playwright whose comedies significantly influenced the development of Western theatre. His works, such as "The Haunted House" and "The Pot of Gold," provided valuable insights into the daily lives and customs of ancient Romans.
In the New Testament of the Bible, Titus is mentioned as a companion and close associate of the Apostle Paul. The Epistle to Titus, one of the Pauline epistles, is addressed to Titus and provides instructions on selecting church leaders and organizing church affairs.
During the Renaissance period, the name Titus gained popularity among the Italian nobility. Titus Vespasian Strozzi (1424-1505), an Italian poet and scholar, was a prominent figure during this time. His works, including the epic poem "The Venetian War," were highly regarded and influential.
In the 16th century, Titus Livius (c. 59 BC - 17 AD), also known as Livy, was a renowned Roman historian whose monumental work "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Founding of the City) chronicled the history of Rome from its mythical beginnings to his own time.
Throughout history, the name Titus has been associated with honor, dignity, and respect, reflecting its roots in the ancient Roman tradition. While its popularity has fluctuated over time, it remains a timeless name that carries a sense of history and cultural significance.
People
Titus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Titus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Titus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Titus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24,446 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Titus 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 14,021 US residents.
Is Titus a common name?
We classify Titus as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25,895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Titus most popular?
The single biggest year for Titus was 2015, when 1,325 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Titus is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Titus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,489 people with the name Titus, or 6.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,680 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 Titus 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 Titus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Titus appears almost entirely male. Of the 18,502 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Titus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Titus is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Titus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Titus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.9% (10,158 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 Titus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Titus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Titus 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 Titus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Titus 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 Titus 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 share the name Titus?
Want to know how many Americans are named Titus? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.