Carol Speed
There are approximately 11 people named Carol Speed living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 31,159,485 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Carol with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Speed. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
11
1 in 31,159,485
Named Carol
446K
Alive today
Named Speed
8.1K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 446K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1946
Average age: 71
Top Census group: White (88.8%)
Estimated bearers: 8.1K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #4,833
Per 100K: 2.37
Top ancestry: White (55.9%)
First name trend
Carol: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Carol. The peak year was 1946 with 34,457 births. The average person named Carol today is 71 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carol
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Carol, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 88.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Carol 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 Carol at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White88.8% · 545,407
- Black or African American5.1% · 31,176
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 17,171
- Two or more races1.6% · 9,625
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 7,847
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3,235
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Speed surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Speed, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 55.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Speed 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 Speed at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White55.9% · 3,966
- Black or African American35.6% · 2,526
- Two or more races4.4% · 310
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 220
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 31
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Carol has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1300% of the US population, based on 445,676 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 Carol right now.
The surname Speed appears at a rate of 2.37 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0024%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 11 people with the full name Carol Speed. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Carol
FAQ
Carol Speed: questions and answers
How many people are named Carol Speed?
We estimate approximately 11 people in the United States share the full name Carol Speed. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1300%) with the surname frequency (2.37 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Carol Speed?
We classify Carol Speed as "Very Rare". About 1 in 31,159,485 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Carol a male or female name?
Carol is predominantly female. Out of 825,494 total SSA registrations, 1.0% were male and 99.0% were female. See the full Carol 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 many people are named Carol Speed?
You can see how common the name Carol Speed is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.