Preston Wilson
There are approximately 273 people named Preston Wilson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,255,510 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Preston with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Wilson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
273
1 in 1,255,510
Named Preston
105K
Alive today
Named Wilson
891K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 105K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2007
Average age: 28
Top Census group: White (71.8%)
Estimated bearers: 891K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #14
Per 100K: 260.05
Top ancestry: White (64.5%)
First name trend
Preston: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Preston. The peak year was 2007 with 3,813 births. The average person named Preston today is 28 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Preston
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Preston, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 71.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Preston 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 Preston at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White71.8% · 63,038
- Black or African American12.1% · 10,654
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 5,205
- Two or more races5.7% · 5,023
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 2,785
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 1,059
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Wilson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Wilson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 64.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Wilson 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 Wilson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White64.5% · 501,019
- Black or African American25.5% · 198,581
- Two or more races4.7% · 36,207
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 27,928
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7,617
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5,923
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Preston has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0306% of the US population, based on 105,045 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 Preston right now.
The surname Wilson appears at a rate of 260.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.2600%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 273 people with the full name Preston Wilson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Preston
Related
Other people with the surname Wilson
FAQ
Preston Wilson: questions and answers
How many people are named Preston Wilson?
We estimate approximately 273 people in the United States share the full name Preston Wilson. That works out to about 1 in 1,255,510 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0306%) with the surname frequency (260.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Preston Wilson?
We classify Preston Wilson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,255,510 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Preston a male or female name?
Preston is predominantly male. Out of 122,600 total SSA registrations, 99.4% were male and 0.6% were female. See the full Preston 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 Americans are named Preston Wilson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.