Gary Coleman
There are approximately 462 people named Gary Coleman living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 741,893 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Gary with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Coleman. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
462
1 in 741,893
Named Gary
653K
Alive today
Named Coleman
242K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 653K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1952
Average age: 66
Top Census group: White (87.5%)
Estimated bearers: 242K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #110
Per 100K: 70.68
Top ancestry: White (47.6%)
First name trend
Gary: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Gary. The peak year was 1952 with 38,838 births. The average person named Gary today is 66 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gary
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Gary, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gary 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 Gary at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.5% · 574,266
- Black or African American6.1% · 39,868
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 15,039
- Two or more races2.1% · 13,682
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 9,220
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4,521
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Coleman surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Coleman, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 47.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Coleman 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 Coleman at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White47.6% · 100,652
- Black or African American43.1% · 91,071
- Two or more races5.0% · 10,596
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 6,884
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1,080
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 976
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Gary has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1906% of the US population, based on 653,395 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 Gary right now.
The surname Coleman appears at a rate of 70.68 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0707%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 462 people with the full name Gary Coleman. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Gary
Related
Other people with the surname Coleman
FAQ
Gary Coleman: questions and answers
How many people are named Gary Coleman?
We estimate approximately 462 people in the United States share the full name Gary Coleman. That works out to about 1 in 741,893 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1906%) with the surname frequency (70.68 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Gary Coleman?
We classify Gary Coleman as "Very Rare". About 1 in 741,893 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Gary a male or female name?
Gary is predominantly male. Out of 905,223 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Gary 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 people have the full name Gary Coleman?
Find out how common the name Gary Coleman is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.