Sean Cunningham
There are approximately 174 people named Sean Cunningham living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,969,853 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Sean with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Cunningham. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
174
1 in 1,969,853
Named Sean
404K
Alive today
Named Cunningham
148K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 404K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1990
Average age: 39
Top Census group: White (76.5%)
Estimated bearers: 148K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #229
Per 100K: 43.11
Top ancestry: White (70.6%)
First name trend
Sean: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Sean. The peak year was 1990 with 12,070 births. The average person named Sean today is 39 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sean
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Sean, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 76.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sean 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 Sean at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White76.5% · 288,562
- Black or African American8.5% · 32,137
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 23,220
- Two or more races4.8% · 18,120
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 13,352
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,740
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Cunningham surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Cunningham, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 70.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Cunningham 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 Cunningham at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White70.6% · 90,983
- Black or African American20.6% · 26,531
- Two or more races4.0% · 5,193
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4,667
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 881
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 614
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Sean has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1178% of the US population, based on 403,789 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 Sean right now.
The surname Cunningham appears at a rate of 43.11 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0431%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 174 people with the full name Sean Cunningham. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Sean
Related
Other people with the surname Cunningham
FAQ
Sean Cunningham: questions and answers
How many people are named Sean Cunningham?
We estimate approximately 174 people in the United States share the full name Sean Cunningham. That works out to about 1 in 1,969,853 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1178%) with the surname frequency (43.11 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Sean Cunningham?
We classify Sean Cunningham as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,969,853 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Sean a male or female name?
Sean is predominantly male. Out of 425,998 total SSA registrations, 99.3% were male and 0.7% were female. See the full Sean 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 Sean Cunningham?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.