Dalai Lama
There are approximately 1 people named Dalai Lama living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Dalai with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Lama. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Dalai
5
Alive today
Named Lama
5.2K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 5
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 2008
Average age: 18
Estimated bearers: 5.2K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #7,106
Per 100K: 1.52
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (70.0%)
First name trend
Dalai: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Dalai. The peak year was 2008 with 5 births. The average person named Dalai today is 18 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Lama surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Lama, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 70.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Lama 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 Lama at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Asian and Pacific Islander70.0% · 3,175
- White15.9% · 720
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 500
- Two or more races2.2% · 101
- Black or African American0.8% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Dalai has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0000% of the US population, based on 5 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Lama appears at a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0015%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Dalai Lama. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Dalai Lama: questions and answers
How many people are named Dalai Lama?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Dalai Lama. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0000%) with the surname frequency (1.52 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Dalai Lama?
We classify Dalai Lama as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Dalai a male or female name?
Dalai is predominantly female. Out of 5 total SSA registrations, 0.0% were male and 100.0% were female. See the full Dalai 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 common is the name Dalai Lama?
You can see how many people are called Dalai Lama on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.