Ismail Merchant
There are approximately 1 people named Ismail Merchant 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 Ismail with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Merchant. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Ismail
3.8K
Alive today
Named Merchant
17K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 3.8K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2016
Average age: 18
Estimated bearers: 17K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,455
Per 100K: 4.98
Top ancestry: White (63.8%)
First name trend
Ismail: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ismail. The peak year was 2016 with 171 births. The average person named Ismail today is 18 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Merchant surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Merchant, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 63.8%.
- White63.8%
- Black or African American15.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.3%
- Hispanic or Latino3.3%
- Two or more races2.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Ismail has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0011% of the US population, based on 3,757 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Merchant appears at a rate of 4.98 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0050%.
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 Ismail Merchant. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Ismail Merchant: questions and answers
How many people are named Ismail Merchant?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Ismail Merchant. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0011%) with the surname frequency (4.98 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Ismail Merchant?
We classify Ismail Merchant as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Ismail a male or female name?
Ismail is predominantly male. Out of 3,818 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Ismail 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.