Worth
A masculine name derived from the Old English word meaning valuable or having merit.
Name Census estimates that about 713 living Americans carry the first name Worth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Worth today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Worth births was 1918 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Worth. 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.
People living today
713
~ 1 in 480,721 Americans
Peak year
1918
67 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,406
Tracked since 1880
Census
Worth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 717 people with the first name Worth, which placed it at #15,898 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
#15,898
National first-name rank
People counted
717
717 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Worth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Worth is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Worth 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 Worth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 628
- Black or African American7.8% · 56
- Two or more races1.5% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 5
Popularity
Worth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Worth from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 489 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Worth 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 Worth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Worths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. North Carolina, Texas, Virginia recorded the most babies named Worth, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 168 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Worth
The name Worth has its origins in Old English, deriving from the word "worth" which means "value" or "price." This name was likely given to individuals who were considered valuable or who possessed admirable personal qualities. The name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Worth can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, a landholder named Worth is mentioned, indicating that the name was already in use during the Norman conquest of England.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Worth remained relatively uncommon, but it was occasionally used by families of various social classes. One notable bearer of the name was Sir Worth Bulstrode, an English soldier and landowner who lived in the 16th century. He served under King Henry VIII and was known for his military exploits during the Italian Wars.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure named William Worth graced the pages of history. Born in 1675, he was an English merchant and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of education in London. He founded several schools and endowed them with funds to ensure their continued operation.
The name Worth gained further prominence in the 19th century, particularly in the United States. William Jenkins Worth, born in 1794, was a highly decorated American military officer who served during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Second Seminole War. He is renowned for his leadership and bravery, and several locations, including Worth County in Georgia, were named in his honor.
Another notable figure from this era was Nicholas Worth, an English artist and illustrator born in 1837. He gained recognition for his intricate book illustrations and his work for various publications, including The Illustrated London News. His artistic contributions helped shape the visual culture of Victorian England.
As the name Worth has a meaning rooted in value and worth, it has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. While not exhaustive, these examples provide a glimpse into the rich history and diverse bearers of this name throughout the centuries.
People
Worth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Worth as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Worth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Worth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 713 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Worth 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 480,721 US residents.
Is Worth a common name?
We classify Worth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,191 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Worth most popular?
The single biggest year for Worth was 1918, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Worth is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Worth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 717 people with the name Worth, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,898 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 Worth 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 Worth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Worth leans strongly male. 681 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 30 female bearers (4.2%). 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 Worth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Worth is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Worth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Worth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (628 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 Worth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Worth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Worth 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 Worth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Worth 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 Worth 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 are named Worth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.