Campbell
A masculine name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "crooked mouth" or "crooked stream".
Name Census estimates that about 11,997 living Americans carry the first name Campbell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Campbell today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Campbell births was 2006 (612 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Campbell. 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 Campbell with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Campbell sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Campbell is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 28,570 Americans
Peak year
2006
612 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#922
Tracked since 1881
Census
Campbell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,226 people with the first name Campbell, which placed it at #2,429 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
#2,429
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,226 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Campbell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Campbell is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Campbell 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 Campbell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 9,118
- Two or more races4.3% · 444
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 285
- Black or African American2.7% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 25
Gender
Gender distribution for Campbell
Campbell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 12,703 total registrations, 5,877 (46.3%) were male and 6,826 (53.7%) were female.
Campbell as a male name
- Ranked #922 in 2024
- 251 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (251 births)
Campbell as a female name
- Ranked #951 in 2024
- 273 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (435 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Campbell on both sides of the split. Of the 10,224 people counted with this name, 4,398 were male (43.0%) and 5,826 were female (57.0%).
Popularity
Campbell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Campbell from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 4,521 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Campbell remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Campbell 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 Campbell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Campbells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Campbell, while West Virginia, Nebraska, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 231 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Campbell
The name Campbell has its origins in the Gaelic language, specifically from the Scottish Highlands. It is derived from the Gaelic words "cam" meaning crooked, and "beul" meaning mouth or entrance, likely referring to a geographical feature such as a bay or valley.
The earliest recorded use of the name Campbell dates back to the 13th century in Scotland, where it was initially a surname. The Campbell clan was one of the most powerful and influential Scottish clans, particularly in the region of Argyll.
One of the earliest and most notable figures with the name Campbell was Sir Nigel Campbell, who lived in the late 13th century and was a prominent Scottish knight and military commander. He played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
In the 15th century, Duncan Campbell of Lochow, also known as Duncan Campbell of Argyll, was a Scottish nobleman and Lord of Argyll. He was a prominent figure in the political and military affairs of Scotland during his time.
In the 16th century, Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll, was a Scottish nobleman and Protestant Reformer. He played a crucial role in the Scottish Reformation, supporting the Protestant cause against the Catholic church.
In the 17th century, John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane, was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was a prominent figure in the Jacobite risings and played a significant role in the political affairs of Scotland during that period.
In the 18th century, John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, was a Scottish nobleman and British Army officer. He served as the Governor of Virginia from 1756 to 1759 and played a role in the French and Indian War.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the name Campbell, highlighting its strong connection to Scottish history and culture.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Campbell
People
Campbell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Campbell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Campbell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Campbell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,997 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Campbell 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 28,570 US residents.
Is Campbell a common name?
We classify Campbell as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,703 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Campbell most popular?
The single biggest year for Campbell was 2006, when 612 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Campbell is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Campbell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,226 people with the name Campbell, or 3.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,429 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 Campbell 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 Campbell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Campbell on both sides of the split. Of the 10,224 people counted with this name, 4,398 were male (43.0%) and 5,826 were female (57.0%). 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 Campbell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Campbell is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Campbell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Campbell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (9,118 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 Campbell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Campbell a female name?
Yes, 53.7% of people registered as Campbell in the SSA data are female. 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 Campbell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Campbell 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 Campbell 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 many people have the name Campbell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.