Richard Wright
There are approximately 2,326 people named Richard Wright living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 147,358 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Richard with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Wright. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
2,326
1 in 147,358
Named Richard
1.6M
Alive today
Named Wright
508K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.6M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1946
Average age: 62
Top Census group: White (82.3%)
Estimated bearers: 508K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #37
Per 100K: 148.28
Top ancestry: White (63.1%)
First name trend
Richard: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Richard. The peak year was 1946 with 58,991 births. The average person named Richard today is 62 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Richard
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Richard, 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 Richard 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 Richard at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White82.3% · 1,296,376
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 125,503
- Black or African American5.2% · 82,066
- Two or more races2.1% · 33,784
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 29,548
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8,721
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Wright surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Wright, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 63.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Wright 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 Wright at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White63.1% · 279,503
- Black or African American27.5% · 121,889
- Two or more races4.8% · 21,123
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 14,860
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2,919
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2,916
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Richard has a living-bearer frequency of 0.4576% of the US population, based on 1,568,549 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 Richard right now.
The surname Wright appears at a rate of 148.28 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1483%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 2,326 people with the full name Richard Wright. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Richard
Related
Other people with the surname Wright
FAQ
Richard Wright: questions and answers
How many people are named Richard Wright?
We estimate approximately 2,326 people in the United States share the full name Richard Wright. That works out to about 1 in 147,358 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.4576%) with the surname frequency (148.28 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Richard Wright?
We classify Richard Wright as "Rare". About 1 in 147,358 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Richard a male or female name?
Richard is predominantly male. Out of 2,585,535 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Richard 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 Richard Wright?
For a quick modern take, check how common the name Richard Wright is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.