Astin
A diminutive name derived from the Old English word "æsc" meaning "ash tree".
Name Census estimates that about 583 living Americans carry the first name Astin. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Astin today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Astin births was 1988 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Astin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Astin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
583
~ 1 in 587,915 Americans
Peak year
1988
31 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,028
Tracked since 1981
Census
Astin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 594 people with the first name Astin, which placed it at #18,210 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,210
National first-name rank
People counted
594
594 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Astin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Astin is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.6%) and Hispanic (12.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Astin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Astin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.0% · 279
- Black or African American25.6% · 152
- Hispanic or Latino12.0% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 43
- Two or more races6.9% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Astin
Astin is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 598 total registrations, 441 (73.7%) were male and 157 (26.3%) were female.
Astin as a male name
- Ranked #9,028 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (27 births)
Astin as a female name
- Ranked #14,565 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1988 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Astin on both sides of the split. Of the 594 people counted with this name, 414 were male (69.7%) and 180 were female (30.3%).
Popularity
Astin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Astin from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 168 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Astin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Astin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Astins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Astin
The name Astin is believed to have originated from the Old English word "aesten," which means "from the east." It was commonly used as a surname during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, particularly in regions such as East Anglia and Mercia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Astin dates back to the 11th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name was often associated with families or individuals who had migrated from the eastern parts of the country or had ties to the eastern regions.
In the Middle Ages, the name Astin was also occasionally used as a given name, although its usage was relatively rare. One notable figure from this period was Astin de Freville, a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century.
During the Renaissance era, the name Astin gained some popularity in certain parts of Europe, particularly in England and France. One notable bearer of the name was Astin Cockaine, an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His works included plays such as "The Obstinate Lady" and "The Tragedy of Ovid."
In the 18th century, Astin Stukeley was a notable English antiquarian and author known for his studies on ancient monuments and religious practices. He was born in 1687 and published several influential works, including "Itinerarium Curiosum" and "Abury, a Temple of the British Druids."
Another historically significant figure with the name Astin was Astin Delafield, an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in the early 19th century. He was born in 1786 and played a role in the development of the Erie Canal.
While the name Astin has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has continued to be used as a given name in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its connection to the eastern regions and its unique historical roots have made it a distinctive and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with a sense of tradition and cultural significance.
People
Astin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Astin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Astin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Astin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 583 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Astin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 587,915 US residents.
Is Astin a common name?
We classify Astin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 598 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Astin most popular?
The single biggest year for Astin was 1988, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Astin is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Astin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 594 people with the name Astin, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,210 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Astin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Astin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Astin on both sides of the split. Of the 594 people counted with this name, 414 were male (69.7%) and 180 were female (30.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Astin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Astin is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.6%) and Hispanic (12.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Astin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Astin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (279 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Astin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Astin a male name?
Yes, 73.7% of people registered as Astin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Astin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Astin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Astin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Astin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Astin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.