Predrag
A Serbian name derived from the Slavic element "pred" meaning "before" and "drag" meaning "precious".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Predrag. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Predrag today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Predrag births was 1972 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Predrag. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Predrag. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1972
5 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1972 SSA rank
#5,548
Tracked since 1972
Census
Predrag in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 571 people with the first name Predrag, which placed it at #18,776 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
#18,776
National first-name rank
People counted
571
571 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Predrag
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Predrag is White at 98.8%. The next largest groups are Black (0.7%) and Hispanic (0.4%). 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 Predrag 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 Predrag at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.8% · 564
- Black or African American0.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Predrag: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Predrag 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 Predrag during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Predrag
Predrag is a Slavic name that originates from the Serbian and Croatian languages. The name is derived from the Slavic root words "pred" meaning "before" and "drag" meaning "dear" or "precious." It can be translated to mean "very precious" or "highly valued."
The name has been in use since ancient times and can be traced back to the medieval period in the Balkans region. It was a popular name among the Serbs and Croats during the Middle Ages and was frequently given to male children born into noble or aristocratic families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Predrag appears in the 14th century Serbian epic poem "The Mountain Wreath" by Petar Petrović Njegoš. The poem features a character named Predrag, who is portrayed as a brave and noble warrior.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Predrag. One of the most famous was Predrag Milosavljević (1912-1988), a Yugoslav chess grandmaster and one of the strongest players of his era. He was known for his aggressive and attacking style of play.
Another notable Predrag was Predrag Matvejevic (1932-2017), a Croatian writer, scholar, and academic. He was widely regarded as one of the most influential intellectuals in the former Yugoslavia and was a strong advocate for cultural dialogue and understanding between different ethnic groups.
In the field of sports, Predrag Stojaković (born 1977) is a former professional basketball player from Serbia. He was a member of the Serbian national team that won the gold medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and is considered one of the greatest European basketball players of all time.
Predrag Mijatović (born 1969) is a former Yugoslavian and Serbian professional football player who played as a striker. He is best known for his successful stint with Real Madrid, where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1998.
Finally, Predrag Bunjak (born 1972) is a Serbian actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows and is considered one of the most talented actors of his generation in Serbia.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Predrag
People
Predrag + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Predrag 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
Predrag: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Predrag?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Predrag 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Predrag a common name?
We classify Predrag as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Predrag most popular?
The single biggest year for Predrag was 1972, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Predrag is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Predrag in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 571 people with the name Predrag, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,776 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 Predrag 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 Predrag?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Predrag appears almost entirely male. Of the 568 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Predrag?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Predrag is White at 98.8%. The next largest groups are Black (0.7%) and Hispanic (0.4%). 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 Predrag most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Predrag in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.8% (564 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 Predrag in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Predrag a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Predrag 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 Predrag still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Predrag 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 Predrag 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 Predrag?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Predrag on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.