Steel
A strong, tough metallic element; resilient, gritty vigor.
Name Census estimates that about 818 living Americans carry the first name Steel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Steel today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Steel births was 2021 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Steel. 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
818
~ 1 in 419,015 Americans
Peak year
2021
62 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,658
Tracked since 1984
Census
Steel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 628 people with the first name Steel, which placed it at #17,522 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
#17,522
National first-name rank
People counted
628
628 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Steel is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Steel 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 Steel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 470
- Two or more races9.4% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 24
- Black or African American2.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 7
Popularity
Steel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Steel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 355 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Steel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Steel 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 Steel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Steels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Steel, while Florida, Arizona, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Steel
The name Steel is a relatively modern invention, originating in the late 19th century as an English given name. It is derived from the word "steel," which comes from the Old English word "styl" or "style," meaning a stake or nail made of steel. The name likely originated as a reference to strength, resilience, and durability, traits associated with the metal steel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Steel being used as a given name dates back to the late 1800s in England. However, it was not widely adopted until the 20th century, when it gained popularity as a masculine given name, particularly in the United States.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Steel as their first name. One of the earliest was Steel Rudd (1892-1960), an American baseball player who played for the Detroit Tigers and the New York Giants in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure was Steel Hutchinson (1914-1995), an American actor and stuntman who appeared in numerous Western films and television shows during the mid-20th century.
In the realm of literature, Steel Wilbur (1938-2020) was an American author and journalist, best known for his non-fiction works on aviation and military history.
More recently, Steel Burkhardt (born 1983) is an American singer and songwriter, known for his work in the indie rock genre.
The name Steel has also been used as a given name for fictional characters, such as Steel Hawthorne, a character in the comic book series "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero."
While not a common name, Steel has maintained a niche popularity over the past century, particularly among those seeking a unique and unconventional name that evokes strength and resilience.
People
Steel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Steel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Steel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Steel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 818 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Steel 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 419,015 US residents.
Is Steel a common name?
We classify Steel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 826 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Steel most popular?
The single biggest year for Steel was 2021, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Steel is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Steel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 628 people with the name Steel, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,522 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 Steel 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 Steel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Steel leans strongly male. 600 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 17 female bearers (2.8%). 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 Steel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Steel is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Steel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Steel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (470 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 Steel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Steel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Steel 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 Steel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Steel 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 Steel 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 Steel as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Steel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.