Porter
One who carries or conveys items, derived from an occupational term.
Name Census estimates that about 17,418 living Americans carry the first name Porter. It is a predominantly male name (95.6% of registrations). The average person named Porter today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Porter births was 2015 (921 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Porter. 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 Porter with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Porter is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 924 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
17K
~ 1 in 19,678 Americans
Peak year
2015
921 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#615
Tracked since 1880
Census
Porter in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,718 people with the first name Porter, which placed it at #2,001 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
#2,001
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,718 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Porter
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Porter is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Black (4.7%). 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 Porter 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 Porter at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 11,705
- Two or more races4.9% · 677
- Black or African American4.7% · 640
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 558
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 60
Gender
Gender distribution for Porter
Porter leans heavily male at 95.6% of total registrations, but 924 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Porter as a male name
- Ranked #615 in 2024
- 463 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (862 births)
Porter as a female name
- Ranked #2,447 in 2024
- 74 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (81 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Porter leans strongly male. 13,036 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 678 female bearers (4.9%).
Popularity
Porter: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Porter from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7,666 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Porter remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Porter 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 Porter during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Porters live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. Utah, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Porter, while Vermont, New Mexico, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 334 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Porter
The given name Porter originated as an occupational surname in medieval England, derived from the Old French word "portier," meaning "doorkeeper" or "gatekeeper." It emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries when occupational surnames became more prevalent.
The name's roots can be traced back to the Latin word "portarius," which shared the same meaning. As cities and towns grew, the role of a porter, someone responsible for guarding and controlling access to gates and entrances, became increasingly important. Porters were often employed by nobility, religious institutions, and wealthy merchants to oversee the comings and goings of people and goods.
While the name Porter doesn't appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it does have a rich historical legacy. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a man named William le Porter is mentioned in Oxfordshire, England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Porter. One of the most famous was Cole Porter (1891-1964), the renowned American composer and songwriter who penned numerous Broadway hits and popular songs, including "Anything Goes," "Night and Day," and "I've Got You Under My Skin."
Another prominent figure was David Porter (1780-1843), an American naval officer who served in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He was known for his bravery and tactical brilliance, earning the nickname "The Fighting Porter."
In the realm of literature, Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) was an influential American writer and journalist, best known for her short stories and novel "Ship of Fools." She was a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
The name also has a notable presence in the world of sports. William Porter (1870-1929), better known as Billy Porter, was an English professional cricketer who played for various teams, including the famous Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.
Lastly, Gene Porter (1927-2020) was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader who played with greats like Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. He was renowned for his virtuosic technique and influential style.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse individuals who have carried the given name Porter throughout the centuries, reflecting its enduring significance and lasting impact.
People
Porter + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Porter 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
Porter: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Porter?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,418 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Porter 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 19,678 US residents.
Is Porter a common name?
We classify Porter as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21,198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Porter most popular?
The single biggest year for Porter was 2015, when 921 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Porter is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Porter in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,718 people with the name Porter, or 4.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,001 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 Porter 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 Porter?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Porter leans strongly male. 13,036 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 678 female bearers (4.9%). 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 Porter?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Porter is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Black (4.7%). 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 Porter most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Porter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (11,705 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 Porter in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Porter a male name?
Yes, 95.6% of people registered as Porter 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 Porter still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Porter 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 Porter 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 Porter?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.