Vinson
An English surname turned masculine name meaning "friend of Vin".
Name Census estimates that about 2,924 living Americans carry the first name Vinson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vinson today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vinson births was 1969 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vinson. 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 Vinson with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 117,221 Americans
Peak year
1969
75 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,211
Tracked since 1898
Census
Vinson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,383 people with the first name Vinson, which placed it at #6,667 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
#6,667
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,383 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vinson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vinson is White at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.6%). 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 Vinson 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 Vinson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.1% · 883
- Black or African American34.3% · 817
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.6% · 419
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 127
- Two or more races4.0% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 41
Popularity
Vinson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vinson from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 553 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vinson 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 Vinson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vinsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Georgia, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Vinson, while Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vinson
The given name Vinson has its origins in the English language, tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a variant of the name Vincent, which itself is derived from the Latin name Vincentius, meaning "conquering" or "victorious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vinson dates back to the 13th century in England, where it appeared as a surname in various historical documents. It is possible that the name was later adopted as a given name by some families.
In terms of historical references, there is no significant mention of the name Vinson in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or other notable historical records. However, there are several individuals throughout history who bore this name and achieved varying degrees of recognition.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Vinson was John Vinson, an English politician who lived from 1585 to 1663. He served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War period.
Another notable figure was Samuel Vinson, an American politician and jurist who lived from 1889 to 1963. He served as the 13th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1946 to 1953.
In the field of literature, Vinson Massie Brown was an American poet and educator who lived from 1888 to 1945. He is known for his poetry collections and his work as a professor at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University).
Vinson Elkins was an American lawyer and founder of the law firm Vinson & Elkins, one of the largest law firms in the United States. He lived from 1890 to 1972 and played a significant role in the legal profession.
Additionally, Vinson Hollingsworth was an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1915 to 2006. He co-founded the Hollingsworth Companies and was actively involved in various charitable organizations.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the given name Vinson. While the name may not have a rich historical background in terms of ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been carried by individuals who made significant contributions in their respective fields.
People
Vinson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vinson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vinson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vinson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,924 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vinson 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 117,221 US residents.
Is Vinson a common name?
We classify Vinson as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,825 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vinson most popular?
The single biggest year for Vinson was 1969, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vinson is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vinson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,383 people with the name Vinson, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,667 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 Vinson 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 Vinson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vinson appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,381 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Vinson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vinson is White at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.6%). 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 Vinson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vinson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.1% (883 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 Vinson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vinson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vinson 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 Vinson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vinson 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 Vinson 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 common is the name Vinson?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Vinson at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.