Aretha Franklin
There are approximately 2 people named Aretha Franklin living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Aretha with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Franklin. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
2
1 in 171,377,169
Named Aretha
4.0K
Alive today
Named Franklin
140K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 4.0K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1968
Average age: 56
Estimated bearers: 140K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #251
Per 100K: 40.89
Top ancestry: White (54.4%)
First name trend
Aretha: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Aretha. The peak year was 1968 with 543 births. The average person named Aretha today is 56 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Franklin surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Franklin, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 54.4%.
- White54.4%
- Black or African American38.8%
- Two or more races2.8%
- Hispanic or Latino2.7%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Aretha has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0012% of the US population, based on 3,978 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Franklin appears at a rate of 40.89 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0409%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 2 people with the full name Aretha Franklin. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Franklin
FAQ
Aretha Franklin: questions and answers
How many people are named Aretha Franklin?
We estimate approximately 2 people in the United States share the full name Aretha Franklin. That works out to about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0012%) with the surname frequency (40.89 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Aretha Franklin?
We classify Aretha Franklin as "Very Rare". About 1 in 171,377,169 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Aretha a male or female name?
Aretha is predominantly female. Out of 5,656 total SSA registrations, 0.0% were male and 100.0% were female. See the full Aretha profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.