Joan Chen
There are approximately 108 people named Joan Chen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,173,651 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joan with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Chen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
108
1 in 3,173,651
Named Joan
188K
Alive today
Named Chen
197K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 188K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1932
Average age: 72
Estimated bearers: 197K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #150
Per 100K: 57.49
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (96.1%)
First name trend
Joan: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Joan. The peak year was 1932 with 21,132 births. The average person named Joan today is 72 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Chen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Chen, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.1%.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.1%
- Two or more races1.6%
- White1.4%
- Hispanic or Latino0.5%
- Black or African American0.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Joan has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0549% of the US population, based on 188,263 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Chen appears at a rate of 57.49 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0575%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 108 people with the full name Joan Chen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Joan
Related
Other people with the surname Chen
FAQ
Joan Chen: questions and answers
How many people are named Joan Chen?
We estimate approximately 108 people in the United States share the full name Joan Chen. That works out to about 1 in 3,173,651 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0549%) with the surname frequency (57.49 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joan Chen?
We classify Joan Chen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 3,173,651 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Joan a male or female name?
Joan is predominantly female. Out of 488,485 total SSA registrations, 1.5% were male and 98.5% were female. See the full Joan 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.