Maverick
A nonconformist, an unconventional person with independence of thought.
Roughly 64,818 people in the United States go by the first name Maverick, which ranks #36 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. It is a predominantly male name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Maverick today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maverick births was 2022 (7,145 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Greg (64,783).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maverick. 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 Maverick with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Maverick is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 711 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Maverick is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
65K
~ 1 in 5,288 Americans
Peak year
2022
7,145 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#36
Tracked since 1957
Census
Maverick in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 29,029 people with the first name Maverick, which placed it at #1,277 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
#1,277
National first-name rank
People counted
29K
29,029 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
9.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maverick
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maverick is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.3%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Maverick 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 Maverick at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 21,807
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 3,275
- Two or more races7.3% · 2,114
- Black or African American3.1% · 897
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 662
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 274
Gender
Gender distribution for Maverick
Maverick leans heavily male at 98.9% of total registrations, but 711 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Maverick as a male name
- Ranked #36 in 2024
- 6,615 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (7,047 births)
Maverick as a female name
- Ranked #2,223 in 2024
- 85 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (98 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maverick leans strongly male. 28,721 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 307 female bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Maverick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maverick from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 33,817 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
Maverick 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 Maverick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mavericks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Maverick, while District of Columbia, Wyoming, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,237 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maverick
Maverick is a unique name with an intriguing history. It is an English word that originated in the late 19th century, derived from the surname of Samuel A. Maverick, a Texas rancher who refused to brand his cattle. The word "maverick" came to mean an independent individual who exhibits a willingness to take risks or explore unorthodox methods.
As a given name, Maverick gained popularity in the late 20th century, likely influenced by the character of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise in the 1986 film "Top Gun." The name's association with individuality, nonconformity, and a daring spirit appealed to many parents seeking a distinctive and meaningful name for their children.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Maverick was Maverick Terrell Llewelyn Fitt, born in 1990 in Jamaica. He was a former professional cricketer who played for the West Indies national team.
Another notable bearer of the name is Maverick Viñales, a Spanish motorcycle racer born in 1995. He is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer and has competed in the MotoGP World Championship since 2015.
In the world of sports, Maverick Carter, born in 1980, is an American businessman and entrepreneur best known as the childhood friend and business partner of LeBron James. He co-founded LRMR Marketing and the multimedia production company SpringHill Entertainment.
Maverick Phillips, born in 1998, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat of the NBA. He was drafted by the Heat in the 2022 NBA draft.
In the entertainment industry, Maverick Freedman, born in 1988, is an American actor best known for his role as Cody Martin in the Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
While the name Maverick may have gained popularity relatively recently, its unique origin and connotations of independence and nonconformity have made it a distinctive and appealing choice for parents seeking a name that captures a spirit of individuality and adventure.
People
Maverick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maverick as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maverick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maverick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64,818 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maverick 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 5,288 US residents.
Is Maverick a common name?
We classify Maverick 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, 65,376 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maverick most popular?
The single biggest year for Maverick was 2022, when 7,145 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maverick is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maverick in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 29,029 people with the name Maverick, or 9.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,277 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 Maverick 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 Maverick?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maverick leans strongly male. 28,721 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 307 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Maverick?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maverick is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.3%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Maverick most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maverick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (21,807 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 Maverick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maverick a male name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Maverick 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 Maverick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maverick 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 Maverick 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 Maverick?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.