Whitney Houston
There are approximately 19 people named Whitney Houston living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 18,039,702 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Whitney with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Houston. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
19
1 in 18,039,702
Named Whitney
97K
Alive today
Named Houston
66K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 97K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1986
Average age: 36
Estimated bearers: 66K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #592
Per 100K: 19.29
Top ancestry: White (52.1%)
First name trend
Whitney: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Whitney. The peak year was 1986 with 9,781 births. The average person named Whitney today is 36 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Houston surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Houston, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 52.1%.
- White52.1%
- Black or African American41.5%
- Two or more races2.8%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Whitney has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0283% of the US population, based on 97,124 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Houston appears at a rate of 19.29 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0193%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 19 people with the full name Whitney Houston. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Whitney
Related
Other people with the surname Houston
FAQ
Whitney Houston: questions and answers
How many people are named Whitney Houston?
We estimate approximately 19 people in the United States share the full name Whitney Houston. That works out to about 1 in 18,039,702 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0283%) with the surname frequency (19.29 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Whitney Houston?
We classify Whitney Houston as "Very Rare". About 1 in 18,039,702 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Whitney a male or female name?
Whitney is predominantly female. Out of 103,403 total SSA registrations, 5.8% were male and 94.2% were female. See the full Whitney 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.