William Whitaker
There are approximately 421 people named William Whitaker living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 814,143 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name William with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Whitaker. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
421
1 in 814,143
Named William
2.3M
Alive today
Named Whitaker
62K
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: 62K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #610
Per 100K: 18.05
Top ancestry: White (68.4%)
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 Whitaker surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Whitaker, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 68.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Whitaker 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 Whitaker at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.4% · 36,878
- Black or African American23.6% · 12,721
- Two or more races4.0% · 2,176
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 1,636
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 284
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 255
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 Whitaker appears at a rate of 18.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0180%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 421 people with the full name William Whitaker. 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 Whitaker
FAQ
William Whitaker: questions and answers
How many people are named William Whitaker?
We estimate approximately 421 people in the United States share the full name William Whitaker. That works out to about 1 in 814,143 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.6813%) with the surname frequency (18.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name William Whitaker?
We classify William Whitaker as "Very Rare". About 1 in 814,143 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 have the full name William Whitaker?
Find out how common the name William Whitaker is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.