Arnold Palmer
There are approximately 22 people named Arnold Palmer living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 15,579,743 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Arnold with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Palmer. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
22
1 in 15,579,743
Named Arnold
43K
Alive today
Named Palmer
173K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 43K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1924
Average age: 64
Top Census group: White (58.7%)
Estimated bearers: 173K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #176
Per 100K: 50.57
Top ancestry: White (71.9%)
First name trend
Arnold: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Arnold. The peak year was 1924 with 2,031 births. The average person named Arnold today is 64 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arnold
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Arnold, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 58.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Arnold described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Arnold at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White58.7% · 27,905
- Hispanic or Latino16.0% · 7,592
- Black or African American14.2% · 6,741
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.5% · 3,577
- Two or more races1.9% · 897
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 798
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Palmer surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Palmer, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 71.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Palmer described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Palmer at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White71.9% · 108,692
- Black or African American18.5% · 27,942
- Two or more races4.2% · 6,414
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 5,987
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,095
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,035
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Arnold has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0125% of the US population, based on 42,702 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Arnold right now.
The surname Palmer appears at a rate of 50.57 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0506%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 22 people with the full name Arnold Palmer. 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 Palmer
FAQ
Arnold Palmer: questions and answers
How many people are named Arnold Palmer?
We estimate approximately 22 people in the United States share the full name Arnold Palmer. That works out to about 1 in 15,579,743 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0125%) with the surname frequency (50.57 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Arnold Palmer?
We classify Arnold Palmer as "Very Rare". About 1 in 15,579,743 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Arnold a male or female name?
Arnold is predominantly male. Out of 104,270 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Arnold 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 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Arnold Palmer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.