Katherine Dunham
There are approximately 35 people named Katherine Dunham living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 9,792,981 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Katherine with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Dunham. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
35
1 in 9,792,981
Named Katherine
457K
Alive today
Named Dunham
26K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 457K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1990
Average age: 42
Estimated bearers: 26K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,604
Per 100K: 7.58
Top ancestry: White (85.1%)
First name trend
Katherine: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Katherine. The peak year was 1990 with 11,659 births. The average person named Katherine today is 42 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Dunham surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Dunham, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 85.1%.
- White85.1%
- Black or African American9.8%
- Hispanic or Latino1.9%
- Two or more races1.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Katherine has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1332% of the US population, based on 456,593 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Dunham appears at a rate of 7.58 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0076%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 35 people with the full name Katherine Dunham. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Katherine
Related
Other people with the surname Dunham
FAQ
Katherine Dunham: questions and answers
How many people are named Katherine Dunham?
We estimate approximately 35 people in the United States share the full name Katherine Dunham. That works out to about 1 in 9,792,981 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1332%) with the surname frequency (7.58 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Katherine Dunham?
We classify Katherine Dunham as "Very Rare". About 1 in 9,792,981 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Katherine a male or female name?
Katherine is predominantly female. Out of 651,062 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Katherine 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.