Pearl Bailey
There are approximately 23 people named Pearl Bailey living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 14,902,363 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Pearl with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Bailey. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
23
1 in 14,902,363
Named Pearl
25K
Alive today
Named Bailey
309K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 25K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 52
Top Census group: White (55.3%)
Estimated bearers: 309K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #73
Per 100K: 90.03
Top ancestry: White (69.4%)
First name trend
Pearl: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Pearl. The peak year was 1918 with 4,622 births. The average person named Pearl today is 52 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearl
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Pearl, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 55.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Pearl 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 Pearl at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White55.3% · 16,900
- Black or African American22.1% · 6,769
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 3,005
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 2,389
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,030
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 473
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Bailey surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Bailey, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 69.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Bailey 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 Bailey at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White69.4% · 186,752
- Black or African American21.7% · 58,326
- Two or more races4.5% · 11,989
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 8,757
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,723
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,545
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Pearl has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0073% of the US population, based on 25,131 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 Pearl right now.
The surname Bailey appears at a rate of 90.03 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0900%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 23 people with the full name Pearl Bailey. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Pearl
Related
Other people with the surname Bailey
FAQ
Pearl Bailey: questions and answers
How many people are named Pearl Bailey?
We estimate approximately 23 people in the United States share the full name Pearl Bailey. That works out to about 1 in 14,902,363 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0073%) with the surname frequency (90.03 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Pearl Bailey?
We classify Pearl Bailey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 14,902,363 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Pearl a male or female name?
Pearl is predominantly female. Out of 162,657 total SSA registrations, 2.4% were male and 97.6% were female. See the full Pearl 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 Pearl Bailey?
Want to know how common the name Pearl Bailey is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.