Pearlean
A feminine name of English origin combining "pearl" and "lean", suggesting elegance and grace.
Name Census estimates that about 294 living Americans carry the first name Pearlean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pearlean today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pearlean births was 1939 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pearlean. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Pearlean is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pearleans were born before 1958.
People living today
294
~ 1 in 1,165,831 Americans
Peak year
1939
37 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1966 SSA rank
#7,326
Tracked since 1907
Census
Pearlean in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 293 people with the first name Pearlean, which placed it at #29,959 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
#29,959
National first-name rank
People counted
293
293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearlean
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pearlean is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and White (2.7%). 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 Pearlean 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 Pearlean at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.2% · 273
- Two or more races3.1% · 9
- White2.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Pearlean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pearlean from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 296 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pearlean 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 Pearlean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pearleans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Pearlean, while Georgia, Texas, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pearlean
The name Pearlean is a relatively modern combination of the English words "pearl" and "lean." The name likely originated in the late 19th or early 20th century as a creative twist on more traditional names like Pearl or Lena.
Pearlean doesn't have a clear cultural or linguistic origin, as it is an invented name rather than one with deep historical roots. However, the word "pearl" has origins in the Latin word "perla," which came from the ancient Greek "margaron." Pearls have long been prized as beautiful and valuable gemstones, so the inclusion of "pearl" in the name Pearlean suggests a connection to beauty, purity, and preciousness.
There are no known ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records that specifically reference the name Pearlean. However, its composite parts, "pearl" and "lean," have appeared in various contexts throughout history.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Pearlean are from the early 20th century. One notable bearer of the name was Pearlean Revels (1890-1988), an African American educator and civil rights activist from Mississippi. She was actively involved in organizations like the NAACP and fought against segregation and discrimination in education.
Another notable Pearlean was Pearlean Wallace (1919-2009), an American blues singer and guitarist from Mississippi. She recorded and performed in the 1940s and 1950s and was known for her powerful vocals and guitar skills.
Pearlean E. Moon (1920-2005) was an American business executive and the first African American woman to serve as a corporate vice president at a major American company, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
Pearlean Truscott (1933-2004) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals, including Raisin and Dreamgirls.
Pearlean Cummings (1934-2021) was an American politician and civil rights activist from Mississippi who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1993 to 2008.
While not an exhaustive list, these notable individuals demonstrate the use of the name Pearlean throughout the 20th century, particularly among African American communities in the southern United States.
People
Pearlean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pearlean as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pearlean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pearlean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 294 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pearlean 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 1,165,831 US residents.
Is Pearlean a common name?
We classify Pearlean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,066 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pearlean most popular?
The single biggest year for Pearlean was 1939, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pearlean is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pearlean in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 293 people with the name Pearlean, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,959 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 Pearlean 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 Pearlean?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pearlean leans strongly female. 294 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Pearlean?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pearlean is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and White (2.7%). 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 Pearlean most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Pearlean in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (273 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 Pearlean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pearlean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pearlean 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 Pearlean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pearlean 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 Pearlean 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 Pearlean as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.