Paul Hurst
There are approximately 130 people named Paul Hurst living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,636,572 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Paul with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Hurst. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
130
1 in 2,636,572
Named Paul
870K
Alive today
Named Hurst
51K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 870K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1957
Average age: 59
Top Census group: White (82.3%)
Estimated bearers: 51K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #758
Per 100K: 14.97
Top ancestry: White (81.4%)
First name trend
Paul: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Paul. The peak year was 1957 with 27,075 births. The average person named Paul today is 59 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paul
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Paul, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 82.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Paul 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 Paul at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White82.3% · 746,870
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 59,210
- Black or African American5.5% · 49,779
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 27,033
- Two or more races2.2% · 19,797
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4,538
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Hurst surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Hurst, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 81.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Hurst 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 Hurst at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White81.4% · 36,396
- Black or African American10.4% · 4,641
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,808
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,399
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 263
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 231
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Paul has a living-bearer frequency of 0.2540% of the US population, based on 870,452 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 Paul right now.
The surname Hurst appears at a rate of 14.97 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0150%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 130 people with the full name Paul Hurst. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Paul
Related
Other people with the surname Hurst
FAQ
Paul Hurst: questions and answers
How many people are named Paul Hurst?
We estimate approximately 130 people in the United States share the full name Paul Hurst. That works out to about 1 in 2,636,572 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.2540%) with the surname frequency (14.97 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Paul Hurst?
We classify Paul Hurst as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,636,572 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Paul a male or female name?
Paul is predominantly male. Out of 1,402,786 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Paul 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 common is the name Paul Hurst?
You can see how common the name Paul Hurst is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.