Thelonious Monk
There are approximately 1 people named Thelonious Monk living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Thelonious with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Monk. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Thelonious
444
Alive today
Named Monk
14K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 444
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2017
Average age: 20
Estimated bearers: 14K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,964
Per 100K: 4.10
Top ancestry: White (78.4%)
First name trend
Thelonious: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Thelonious. The peak year was 2017 with 23 births. The average person named Thelonious today is 20 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Monk surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Monk, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 78.4%.
- White78.4%
- Black or African American15.8%
- Hispanic or Latino2.7%
- Two or more races1.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Thelonious has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0001% of the US population, based on 444 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Monk appears at a rate of 4.10 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0041%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Thelonious Monk. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Thelonious Monk: questions and answers
How many people are named Thelonious Monk?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Thelonious Monk. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0001%) with the surname frequency (4.10 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Thelonious Monk?
We classify Thelonious Monk as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Thelonious a male or female name?
Thelonious is predominantly male. Out of 455 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Thelonious 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 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.