Barack Obama
There are approximately 1 people named Barack Obama living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Barack with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Obama. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Barack
302
Alive today
Named Obama
148
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 302
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2009
Average age: 14
Top Census group: Black or African American (61.9%)
Estimated bearers: 148
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #135,344
Per 100K: 0.04
Top ancestry: Black (51.2%)
First name trend
Barack: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Barack. The peak year was 2009 with 71 births. The average person named Barack today is 14 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barack
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Barack, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 61.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Barack described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Barack at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American61.9% · 193
- White12.8% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 38
- Two or more races7.1% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Obama surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Obama, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 51.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Obama described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Obama at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American51.2% · 66
- White22.5% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino14.0% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 8
- Two or more races6.2% · 8
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Barack has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0001% of the US population, based on 302 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Barack right now.
The surname Obama appears at a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0000%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Barack Obama. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Barack Obama: questions and answers
How many people are named Barack Obama?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Barack Obama. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0001%) with the surname frequency (0.04 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Barack Obama?
We classify Barack Obama as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Barack a male or female name?
Barack is predominantly male. Out of 305 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Barack profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Barack Obama?
Want to know how common the name Barack Obama is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.