David Ward
There are approximately 2,514 people named David Ward living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 136,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name David with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Ward. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
2,514
1 in 136,338
Named David
2.8M
Alive today
Named Ward
303K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.8M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1955
Average age: 54
Estimated bearers: 303K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #79
Per 100K: 88.30
Top ancestry: White (75.6%)
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 Ward surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Ward, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.6%.
- White75.6%
- Black or African American18.5%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races2.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
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 Ward appears at a rate of 88.30 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0883%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 2,514 people with the full name David Ward. 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
Related
Other people with the surname Ward
FAQ
David Ward: questions and answers
How many people are named David Ward?
We estimate approximately 2,514 people in the United States share the full name David Ward. That works out to about 1 in 136,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.8307%) with the surname frequency (88.30 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name David Ward?
We classify David Ward as "Rare". About 1 in 136,338 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.