Utah
A place name of Native American origin meaning "people of the higher land".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Utah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Utah today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Utah births was 1921 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Utah. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1921
21 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,774
Tracked since 1918
Census
Utah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 245 people with the first name Utah, which placed it at #33,672 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
#33,672
National first-name rank
People counted
245
245 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Utah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Utah is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Utah 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 Utah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 184
- Black or African American8.6% · 21
- Two or more races8.6% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 7
Popularity
Utah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Utah from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Utah 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 Utah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Utahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas recorded the most babies named Utah, while Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Utah
Utah is a relatively modern name that was derived from a Native American language spoken in the western United States. It originated from the Ute tribe, who inhabited parts of present-day Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The name "Utah" is believed to have its roots in the Ute word "nuciu," which means "higher up" or "elevated."
The name Utah first gained prominence in the early 19th century when explorers and settlers began exploring the region now known as the state of Utah. In 1776, a Spanish missionary, Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, referred to the area as "Utah" in his records, likely influenced by the local indigenous population's name for the region.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Utah as a personal name was for Utah Valley, a prominent geographical feature in central Utah. This valley, named after the Ute tribe, was first mentioned in records by the explorer Jedediah Smith in 1826.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Utah. One of the most famous was Utah Phillips (1935-2008), an American labor organizer, folk singer, and storyteller. He was an influential figure in the folk music revival of the 1960s and was known for his political activism and storytelling abilities.
Another notable individual with the name Utah was Utah Blaine (1922-2009), a Native American actress and stuntwoman from the Blackfeet tribe. She appeared in numerous Western films and television shows, often portraying Native American characters, and was known for her horsemanship and skilled stunt work.
In the world of sports, Utah Paine (1892-1965) was a professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues from 1915 to 1922. He was a skilled outfielder and played for teams such as the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Braves.
Utah Silas Pendleton (1886-1965) was an American educator and civil rights activist who dedicated his life to improving educational opportunities for African Americans in the early 20th century. He served as the president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was a prominent figure in the fight for racial equality.
Another notable figure was Utah Kawanami (1898-1997), a Japanese sculptor and artist who was renowned for his woodcarvings and sculptures depicting Buddhist themes. His works can be found in museums and temples throughout Japan and are celebrated for their intricate details and spiritual symbolism.
People
Utah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Utah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Utah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Utah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Utah 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Utah a common name?
We classify Utah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 382 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Utah most popular?
The single biggest year for Utah was 1921, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Utah is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Utah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 245 people with the name Utah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,672 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 Utah 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 Utah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Utah leans strongly male. 230 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 26 female bearers (10.2%). 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 Utah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Utah is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Utah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Utah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (184 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 Utah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Utah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Utah 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 Utah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Utah 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 Utah 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 share the name Utah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.