Constance
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "constant, steadfast, or unwavering".
Name Census estimates that about 69,118 living Americans carry the first name Constance. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Constance today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Constance births was 1950 (4,451 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Constance. 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 Constance with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Constance is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 419 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Constance have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
69K
~ 1 in 4,959 Americans
Peak year
1950
4,451 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1989 SSA rank
#1,645
Tracked since 1880
Census
Constance in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 89,616 people with the first name Constance, which placed it at #592 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
#592
National first-name rank
People counted
90K
89,616 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
29.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Constance
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Constance is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Constance 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 Constance at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 71,304
- Black or African American14.9% · 13,359
- Two or more races2.2% · 1,933
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 1,699
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 870
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 451
Gender
Gender distribution for Constance
Out of the 140,251 babies given the name Constance since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Constance as a male name
- Ranked #8,105 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1932 (16 births)
Constance as a female name
- Ranked #1,645 in 2024
- 125 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1950 (4,441 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Constance appears almost entirely female. Of the 89,619 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Constance: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Constance from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 33,598 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Constance 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 Constance during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Constances live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Constance, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,613 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Constance
The name Constance has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "constantia," which means "firmness," "steadfastness," or "perseverance." It is a feminine form of the Latin name Constantius, which was a popular name among Roman nobility during the ancient Roman era.
The name Constance gained popularity in the early Christian era, as it was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs. One of the most notable was Saint Constance, a 4th-century Roman woman who was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate.
Constance was a relatively common name throughout medieval Europe, particularly in France and England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the 12th century, when Constance of Arles, a Provençal noblewoman, married King Robert II of France in 1154.
In the 13th century, Constance of Hauteville, a Norman princess, became the Queen of Sicily after marrying the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI in 1186. Her granddaughter, Constance of Aragon, was the Queen of Hungary and Germany in the early 13th century.
Another famous bearer of the name was Constance of Castile, who was the wife of King Louis VII of France in the 12th century. She played a significant role in the governance of the kingdom during her husband's absence on the Second Crusade.
In England, one of the most notable examples was Constance of Brittany, who was the heiress to the Duchy of Brittany and the wife of Geoffrey Plantagenet, the son of King Henry II. She was a key figure in the struggles for power during the reigns of King John and King Henry III in the early 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, Constance de Rabastens was a 16th-century French poet and noblewoman who was renowned for her literary works and patronage of the arts. In the 17th century, Constance Cary, an English heiress, played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Royalist cause.
The name Constance has continued to be used throughout history, though its popularity has waxed and waned over time. Other notable bearers of the name include Constance Markievicz, an Irish revolutionary and the first woman elected to the British Parliament; Constance Baker Motley, an African American civil rights activist and the first black woman appointed to the federal judiciary; and Constance Wu, a contemporary American actress known for her roles in "Fresh Off the Boat" and "Crazy Rich Asians."
Notable bearers
Famous people named Constance
People
Constance + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Constance 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
Constance: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Constance?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 69,118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Constance 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 4,959 US residents.
Is Constance a common name?
We classify Constance as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 140,251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Constance most popular?
The single biggest year for Constance was 1950, when 4,451 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Constance is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Constance in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 89,616 people with the name Constance, or 29.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #592 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 Constance 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 Constance?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Constance appears almost entirely female. Of the 89,619 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Constance?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Constance is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Constance most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Constance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (71,304 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 Constance in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Constance a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Constance 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 Constance still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Constance 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 Constance 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 share the name Constance?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.