Redding
A masculine name of English origin, likely derived from the Old English "red" meaning red, or "reading" meaning reed bed.
Name Census estimates that about 317 living Americans carry the first name Redding. It is a predominantly male name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Redding today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Redding births was 2016 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Redding. 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.
People living today
317
~ 1 in 1,081,244 Americans
Peak year
2016
38 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,828
Tracked since 1922
Census
Redding in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 305 people with the first name Redding, which placed it at #29,174 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
#29,174
National first-name rank
People counted
305
305 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Redding
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Redding is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Redding 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 Redding at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 245
- Two or more races8.5% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 21
- Black or African American1.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Redding
Redding leans heavily male at 96.6% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Redding as a male name
- Ranked #4,828 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (33 births)
Redding as a female name
- Ranked #15,527 in 2017
- 6 female births in 2017
- Peak: 2017 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Redding leans strongly male. 258 people counted with this name were male (84.0%), compared with 49 female bearers (16.0%).
Popularity
Redding: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Redding from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 196 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Redding remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Redding 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 Redding during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reddings live
Origin
Meaning and history of Redding
The name Redding is believed to have originated from the Old English word "rædingc," which referred to a person who was skilled in reading or interpreting texts. This name likely came into use during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, between the 5th and 11th centuries AD.
The name is thought to have been initially used as a descriptive surname or occupational name for individuals who were literate and could read and interpret written materials, which was a rare skill during that time. As literacy became more widespread, the name eventually transitioned into a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Redding appears in the Domesday Book, a great survey of landholdings and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, a landowner named Redding is mentioned as holding property in the county of Sussex.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Redding. One prominent example is Sir Redding Woodgate (1588-1639), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. Another noteworthy figure was Redding Bunting (1778-1853), an Irish composer and musician who wrote numerous popular songs and ballads.
In the field of literature, Redding Maverick (1795-1867) was an American author and journalist who wrote several novels and worked as an editor for various publications. Additionally, Redding Pitt (1810-1891) was a British clergyman and author who wrote several religious works and served as the Dean of Windsor.
Another individual of historical significance was Redding Hart (1765-1856), an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in the early 19th century.
While the name Redding has its roots in Old English and was initially used as an occupational surname, it has since evolved into a given name with a rich history spanning centuries. The individuals mentioned above represent just a few examples of notable figures who have carried this name throughout various periods and fields.
People
Redding + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Redding as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Redding: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Redding?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 317 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Redding 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 1,081,244 US residents.
Is Redding a common name?
We classify Redding as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 324 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Redding most popular?
The single biggest year for Redding was 2016, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Redding 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 Redding in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 305 people with the name Redding, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,174 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 Redding 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 Redding?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Redding leans strongly male. 258 people counted with this name were male (84.0%), compared with 49 female bearers (16.0%). 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 Redding?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Redding is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Redding most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Redding in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (245 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 Redding in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Redding a male name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Redding 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 Redding still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Redding 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 Redding 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 Americans are named Redding?
Want to know how many people have the name Redding? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.