Harriet Tubman
There are approximately 1 people named Harriet Tubman living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Harriet with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Tubman. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Harriet
21K
Alive today
Named Tubman
873
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 21K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1921
Average age: 65
Top Census group: White (78.7%)
Estimated bearers: 873
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #32,405
Per 100K: 0.25
Top ancestry: White (57.8%)
First name trend
Harriet: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Harriet. The peak year was 1921 with 2,395 births. The average person named Harriet today is 65 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harriet
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Harriet, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 78.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Harriet 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 Harriet at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White78.7% · 23,884
- Black or African American15.3% · 4,651
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 650
- Two or more races1.7% · 516
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 384
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 267
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Tubman surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Tubman, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 57.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Tubman 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 Tubman at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White57.8% · 440
- Black or African American35.1% · 267
- Two or more races3.7% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Harriet has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0060% of the US population, based on 20,568 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 Harriet right now.
The surname Tubman appears at a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 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 1 people with the full name Harriet Tubman. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Harriet Tubman: questions and answers
How many people are named Harriet Tubman?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Harriet Tubman. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0060%) with the surname frequency (0.25 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Harriet Tubman?
We classify Harriet Tubman as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Harriet a male or female name?
Harriet is predominantly female. Out of 90,197 total SSA registrations, 0.1% were male and 99.9% were female. See the full Harriet 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 Harriet Tubman?
See how common the name Harriet Tubman is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.