Nolan Ryan
There are approximately 60 people named Nolan Ryan living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 5,712,572 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Nolan with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Ryan. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
60
1 in 5,712,572
Named Nolan
124K
Alive today
Named Ryan
167K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 124K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2015
Average age: 17
Estimated bearers: 167K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #193
Per 100K: 48.63
Top ancestry: White (91.7%)
First name trend
Nolan: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Nolan. The peak year was 2015 with 5,757 births. The average person named Nolan today is 17 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Ryan surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Ryan, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 91.7%.
- White91.7%
- Black or African American3.0%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- Two or more races1.5%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Nolan has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0361% of the US population, based on 123,634 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Ryan appears at a rate of 48.63 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0486%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 60 people with the full name Nolan Ryan. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Ryan
FAQ
Nolan Ryan: questions and answers
How many people are named Nolan Ryan?
We estimate approximately 60 people in the United States share the full name Nolan Ryan. That works out to about 1 in 5,712,572 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0361%) with the surname frequency (48.63 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Nolan Ryan?
We classify Nolan Ryan as "Very Rare". About 1 in 5,712,572 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Nolan a male or female name?
Nolan is predominantly male. Out of 131,160 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Nolan 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.