Gay Person
There are approximately 2 people named Gay Person living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Gay with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Person. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
2
1 in 171,377,169
Named Gay
10K
Alive today
Named Person
80K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 10K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 71
Top Census group: White (84.3%)
Estimated bearers: 80K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #463
Per 100K: 23.48
Top ancestry: White (45.6%)
First name trend
Gay: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Gay. The peak year was 1959 with 692 births. The average person named Gay today is 71 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gay
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Gay, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 84.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gay 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 Gay at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White84.3% · 9,893
- Black or African American6.2% · 729
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 703
- Two or more races2.0% · 235
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 124
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 48
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Person surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Person, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 45.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Person 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 Person at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White45.6% · 31,989
- Black or African American28.1% · 19,746
- Hispanic or Latino18.6% · 13,079
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 2,620
- Two or more races2.6% · 1,807
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 933
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Gay has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0029% of the US population, based on 10,004 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 Gay right now.
The surname Person appears at a rate of 23.48 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0235%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 2 people with the full name Gay Person. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Gay
Related
Other people with the surname Person
FAQ
Gay Person: questions and answers
How many people are named Gay Person?
We estimate approximately 2 people in the United States share the full name Gay Person. That works out to about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0029%) with the surname frequency (23.48 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Gay Person?
We classify Gay Person as "Very Rare". About 1 in 171,377,169 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Gay a male or female name?
Gay is predominantly female. Out of 19,367 total SSA registrations, 7.1% were male and 92.9% were female. See the full Gay 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 Gay Person?
If you just want to know how many people are called Gay Person, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.