Unique
Meaning "being the only one of its kind" or "one and only".
Name Census estimates that about 8,258 living Americans carry the first name Unique. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Unique today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Unique births was 2009 (310 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Unique. 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 Unique with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.3K
~ 1 in 41,506 Americans
Peak year
2009
310 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,207
Tracked since 1972
Census
Unique in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,953 people with the first name Unique, which placed it at #3,483 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
#3,483
National first-name rank
People counted
6.0K
5,953 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Unique
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Unique is Black at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.1%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Unique 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 Unique at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.4% · 3,954
- Hispanic or Latino18.1% · 1,076
- Two or more races6.4% · 381
- White6.0% · 359
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 69
Gender
Gender distribution for Unique
Unique leans heavily female at 89.3% of total registrations, but 907 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Unique as a male name
- Ranked #2,662 in 2024
- 50 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (50 births)
Unique as a female name
- Ranked #2,207 in 2024
- 86 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (292 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Unique leans strongly female. 5,268 people counted with this name were female (88.5%), compared with 685 male bearers (11.5%).
Popularity
Unique: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Unique from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,766 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Unique 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 Unique during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Uniques live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Unique, while Utah, Minnesota, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 181 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Unique
The given name Unique is a relatively modern English name that has gained popularity in recent decades. It is derived from the English word "unique," which means one of a kind, unparalleled, or distinct. The name's origins can be traced back to the late 20th century when it started gaining traction as a given name, particularly in certain regions of the United States.
While the name Unique does not have a long historical lineage or cultural roots in ancient civilizations, it reflects a contemporary trend of giving children distinctive and meaningful names. The name's appeal lies in its positive connotation, suggesting that the child is special, extraordinary, and unlike any other.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Unique being used as a given name dates back to the 1970s, though it remained relatively uncommon until the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, the name has steadily gained popularity, particularly among certain demographic groups in the United States.
While there are no historically significant figures with the given name Unique from ancient times, a few individuals have gained recognition in more recent years. One notable example is Unique Ratinho, a Brazilian singer and songwriter born in 1984. Another is Unique Hodge, an American former softball player who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In the world of entertainment, Unique Morris is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows. Unique Ratcliff is an American rapper and singer who has released several albums and singles. Unique Jenkins is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA.
It's worth noting that while the name Unique has gained some traction, it remains a relatively uncommon choice compared to more traditional names. However, its popularity reflects the desire of parents to give their children a name that sets them apart and celebrates their individuality.
People
Unique + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Unique as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Unique: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Unique?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Unique 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 41,506 US residents.
Is Unique a common name?
We classify Unique as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,446 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Unique most popular?
The single biggest year for Unique was 2009, when 310 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Unique is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Unique in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,953 people with the name Unique, or 1.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,483 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 Unique 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 Unique?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Unique leans strongly female. 5,268 people counted with this name were female (88.5%), compared with 685 male bearers (11.5%). 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 Unique?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Unique is Black at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.1%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Unique most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Unique in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (3,954 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 Unique in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Unique a female name?
Yes, 89.3% of people registered as Unique in the SSA data are female. 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 Unique still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Unique 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 Unique 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 have the name Unique?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Unique, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.