William King
There are approximately 3,543 people named William King living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 96,741 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name William with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname King. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
3,543
1 in 96,741
Named William
2.3M
Alive today
Named King
520K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.3M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1947
Average age: 54
Top Census group: White (83.3%)
Estimated bearers: 520K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #36
Per 100K: 151.74
Top ancestry: White (67.5%)
First name trend
William: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name William. The peak year was 1947 with 67,155 births. The average person named William today is 54 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for William
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name William, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 83.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name William 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 William at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White83.3% · 1,866,221
- Black or African American6.9% · 153,992
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 114,833
- Two or more races2.8% · 61,725
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 31,382
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11,959
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the King surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname King, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname King 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 King at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White67.5% · 306,247
- Black or African American22.3% · 101,005
- Two or more races4.5% · 20,585
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 16,225
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 5,191
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4,286
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name William has a living-bearer frequency of 0.6813% of the US population, based on 2,335,115 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 William right now.
The surname King appears at a rate of 151.74 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1517%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 3,543 people with the full name William King. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named William
Related
Other people with the surname King
FAQ
William King: questions and answers
How many people are named William King?
We estimate approximately 3,543 people in the United States share the full name William King. That works out to about 1 in 96,741 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.6813%) with the surname frequency (151.74 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name William King?
We classify William King as "Rare". About 1 in 96,741 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is William a male or female name?
William is predominantly male. Out of 4,205,026 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full William 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 people are named William King?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called William King on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.