Merlin Olsen
There are approximately 1 people named Merlin Olsen 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 Merlin with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Olsen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Merlin
6.7K
Alive today
Named Olsen
66K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 6.7K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1927
Average age: 55
Top Census group: White (61.5%)
Estimated bearers: 66K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #571
Per 100K: 19.28
Top ancestry: White (90.9%)
First name trend
Merlin: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Merlin. The peak year was 1927 with 405 births. The average person named Merlin today is 55 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merlin
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Merlin, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 61.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Merlin 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 Merlin at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White61.5% · 5,326
- Hispanic or Latino22.5% · 1,951
- Black or African American7.6% · 658
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 393
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 182
- Two or more races1.7% · 146
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Olsen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Olsen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 90.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Olsen 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 Olsen at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White90.9% · 52,376
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 2,173
- Two or more races3.3% · 1,884
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 526
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 404
- Black or African American0.5% · 263
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Merlin has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0020% of the US population, based on 6,720 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 Merlin right now.
The surname Olsen appears at a rate of 19.28 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0193%.
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 Merlin Olsen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Merlin
Related
Other people with the surname Olsen
FAQ
Merlin Olsen: questions and answers
How many people are named Merlin Olsen?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Merlin Olsen. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0020%) with the surname frequency (19.28 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Merlin Olsen?
We classify Merlin Olsen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Merlin a male or female name?
Merlin is predominantly male. Out of 15,891 total SSA registrations, 94.3% were male and 5.7% were female. See the full Merlin 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 are named Merlin Olsen?
If you just want to know how common the name Merlin Olsen is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.