Colin Powell
There are approximately 97 people named Colin Powell living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,533,550 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Colin with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Powell. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
97
1 in 3,533,550
Named Colin
127K
Alive today
Named Powell
261K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 127K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2004
Average age: 28
Estimated bearers: 261K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #101
Per 100K: 76.23
Top ancestry: White (67.2%)
First name trend
Colin: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Colin. The peak year was 2004 with 5,147 births. The average person named Colin today is 28 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Powell surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Powell, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.2%.
- White67.2%
- Black or African American27.1%
- Hispanic or Latino2.3%
- Two or more races2.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Colin has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0371% of the US population, based on 127,234 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Powell appears at a rate of 76.23 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0762%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 97 people with the full name Colin Powell. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Colin
Related
Other people with the surname Powell
FAQ
Colin Powell: questions and answers
How many people are named Colin Powell?
We estimate approximately 97 people in the United States share the full name Colin Powell. That works out to about 1 in 3,533,550 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0371%) with the surname frequency (76.23 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Colin Powell?
We classify Colin Powell as "Very Rare". About 1 in 3,533,550 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Colin a male or female name?
Colin is predominantly male. Out of 133,202 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Colin 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.