Howard Keel
There are approximately 4 people named Howard Keel living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 85,688,585 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Howard with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Keel. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
4
1 in 85,688,585
Named Howard
131K
Alive today
Named Keel
10K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 131K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1921
Average age: 67
Estimated bearers: 10K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #4,090
Per 100K: 2.94
Top ancestry: White (79.5%)
First name trend
Howard: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Howard. The peak year was 1921 with 7,749 births. The average person named Howard today is 67 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Keel surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Keel, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 79.5%.
- White79.5%
- Black or African American13.6%
- Two or more races2.5%
- Hispanic or Latino1.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Howard has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0381% of the US population, based on 130,588 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Keel appears at a rate of 2.94 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0029%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 4 people with the full name Howard Keel. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Howard
FAQ
Howard Keel: questions and answers
How many people are named Howard Keel?
We estimate approximately 4 people in the United States share the full name Howard Keel. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0381%) with the surname frequency (2.94 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Howard Keel?
We classify Howard Keel as "Very Rare". About 1 in 85,688,585 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Howard a male or female name?
Howard is predominantly male. Out of 348,120 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Howard 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.