Mark Lester
There are approximately 163 people named Mark Lester living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,102,787 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Mark with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Lester. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
163
1 in 2,102,787
Named Mark
1.1M
Alive today
Named Lester
49K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.1M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1960
Average age: 56
Top Census group: White (85.0%)
Estimated bearers: 49K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #789
Per 100K: 14.28
Top ancestry: White (73.3%)
First name trend
Mark: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Mark. The peak year was 1960 with 58,852 births. The average person named Mark today is 56 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mark
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Mark, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mark 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 Mark at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.0% · 964,950
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 61,463
- Black or African American5.0% · 57,203
- Two or more races2.3% · 25,958
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 21,054
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4,915
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Lester surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Lester, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 73.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Lester 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 Lester at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White73.3% · 31,279
- Black or African American18.3% · 7,805
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,646
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 1,288
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 448
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 226
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Mark has a living-bearer frequency of 0.3339% of the US population, based on 1,144,344 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 Mark right now.
The surname Lester appears at a rate of 14.28 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0143%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 163 people with the full name Mark Lester. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Mark
Related
Other people with the surname Lester
FAQ
Mark Lester: questions and answers
How many people are named Mark Lester?
We estimate approximately 163 people in the United States share the full name Mark Lester. That works out to about 1 in 2,102,787 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.3339%) with the surname frequency (14.28 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Mark Lester?
We classify Mark Lester as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,102,787 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Mark a male or female name?
Mark is predominantly male. Out of 1,365,265 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Mark 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 Mark Lester?
If you just want to know how many people are called Mark Lester, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.