Ferguson
A masculine given name derived from a Scottish surname meaning "son of the dark-skinned person".
Name Census estimates that about 104 living Americans carry the first name Ferguson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ferguson today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ferguson births was 2019 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ferguson. 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 Ferguson with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
104
~ 1 in 3,295,715 Americans
Peak year
2019
8 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,861
Tracked since 1914
Census
Ferguson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 320 people with the first name Ferguson, which placed it at #28,183 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
#28,183
National first-name rank
People counted
320
320 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ferguson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ferguson is White at 51.3%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.3%). 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 Ferguson 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 Ferguson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.3% · 164
- Black or African American30.6% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.3% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 19
- Two or more races4.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 6
Popularity
Ferguson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ferguson from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 34 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ferguson 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 Ferguson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ferguson
The given name Ferguson has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language, derived from the elements "fear" meaning "man" and "gille" meaning "servant" or "youth." It emerged as a surname in the Scottish Highlands during the medieval period, likely referring to a servant or attendant of a clan chief.
Despite its widespread use as a surname, the name Ferguson was not commonly adopted as a given name until the 19th century. It gained popularity in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as in regions with significant Scottish heritage, such as North America and Australia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ferguson as a given name can be traced back to the 17th century. Ferguson McIlvaine, born in 1638 in Scotland, was a notable figure who later immigrated to the American colonies and became a prominent landowner in Pennsylvania.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ferguson as their given name. Adam Ferguson, born in 1723 in Scotland, was an influential philosopher, historian, and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. His work, "An Essay on the History of Civil Society," published in 1767, explored the development of human societies and the role of social institutions.
Another prominent figure was Ferguson Jenkins, born in 1942 in Canada, a renowned baseball player who spent most of his career with the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, recognized for his exceptional pitching skills and longevity in the sport.
In the realm of literature, Ferguson Rainey, born in 1928 in the United States, was a notable poet and author. His works, including "The Burning of Paper Instead of Children" and "Answers Instead," explored themes of social justice, civil rights, and the human experience.
Ferguson Smith, born in 1933 in Scotland, was a pioneering geneticist and medical researcher. His groundbreaking work on genomic imprinting and the study of genetic disorders laid the foundation for advancements in modern genetics and prenatal diagnosis.
These examples illustrate the diverse array of individuals who have carried the name Ferguson throughout history, each making significant contributions in their respective fields and leaving a lasting impact on society.
People
Ferguson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ferguson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ferguson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ferguson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ferguson 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 3,295,715 US residents.
Is Ferguson a common name?
We classify Ferguson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 141 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ferguson most popular?
The single biggest year for Ferguson was 2019, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ferguson is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ferguson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 320 people with the name Ferguson, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,183 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 Ferguson 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 Ferguson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ferguson leans strongly male. 259 people counted with this name were male (82.7%), compared with 54 female bearers (17.3%). 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 Ferguson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ferguson is White at 51.3%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.3%). 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 Ferguson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ferguson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.3% (164 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 Ferguson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ferguson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ferguson 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 Ferguson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ferguson 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 Ferguson 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 Ferguson as a first name?
Find out how many people have the name Ferguson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.