Gary Sanderson
There are approximately 51 people named Gary Sanderson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 6,720,673 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Gary with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Sanderson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
51
1 in 6,720,673
Named Gary
653K
Alive today
Named Sanderson
27K
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: 27K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,495
Per 100K: 7.80
Top ancestry: White (82.3%)
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 Sanderson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Sanderson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 82.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Sanderson 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 Sanderson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White82.3% · 19,187
- Black or African American6.8% · 1,578
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,027
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 817
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 542
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 162
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 Sanderson appears at a rate of 7.80 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0078%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 51 people with the full name Gary Sanderson. 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 Sanderson
FAQ
Gary Sanderson: questions and answers
How many people are named Gary Sanderson?
We estimate approximately 51 people in the United States share the full name Gary Sanderson. That works out to about 1 in 6,720,673 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1906%) with the surname frequency (7.80 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Gary Sanderson?
We classify Gary Sanderson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 6,720,673 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 common is the name Gary Sanderson?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Gary Sanderson at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.