David Obey
There are approximately 7 people named David Obey living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 48,964,905 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name David with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Obey. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
7
1 in 48,964,905
Named David
2.8M
Alive today
Named Obey
857
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.8M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1955
Average age: 54
Estimated bearers: 857
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #31,656
Per 100K: 0.25
Top ancestry: Black (53.7%)
First name trend
David: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name David. The peak year was 1955 with 86,450 births. The average person named David today is 54 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Obey surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Obey, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 53.7%.
- Black or African American53.7%
- White38.0%
- Two or more races5.2%
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name David has a living-bearer frequency of 0.8307% of the US population, based on 2,847,418 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Obey appears at a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0003%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 7 people with the full name David Obey. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named David
FAQ
David Obey: questions and answers
How many people are named David Obey?
We estimate approximately 7 people in the United States share the full name David Obey. That works out to about 1 in 48,964,905 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.8307%) with the surname frequency (0.25 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name David Obey?
We classify David Obey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 48,964,905 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is David a male or female name?
David is predominantly male. Out of 3,682,683 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full David 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.