Craig Nelson
There are approximately 347 people named Craig Nelson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 987,765 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Craig with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nelson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
347
1 in 987,765
Named Craig
253K
Alive today
Named Nelson
471K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 253K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1960
Average age: 56
Top Census group: White (86.1%)
Estimated bearers: 471K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #44
Per 100K: 137.44
Top ancestry: White (75.0%)
First name trend
Craig: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Craig. The peak year was 1960 with 10,740 births. The average person named Craig today is 56 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Craig
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Craig, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 86.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Craig 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 Craig at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White86.1% · 210,530
- Black or African American8.3% · 20,267
- Two or more races2.2% · 5,414
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 4,385
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2,532
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,354
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Nelson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Nelson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Nelson 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 Nelson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White75.0% · 308,238
- Black or African American15.6% · 64,232
- Two or more races3.9% · 16,061
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 14,534
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4,197
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3,539
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Craig has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0737% of the US population, based on 252,678 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 Craig right now.
The surname Nelson appears at a rate of 137.44 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1374%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 347 people with the full name Craig Nelson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Craig
Related
Other people with the surname Nelson
FAQ
Craig Nelson: questions and answers
How many people are named Craig Nelson?
We estimate approximately 347 people in the United States share the full name Craig Nelson. That works out to about 1 in 987,765 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0737%) with the surname frequency (137.44 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Craig Nelson?
We classify Craig Nelson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 987,765 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Craig a male or female name?
Craig is predominantly male. Out of 300,534 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Craig 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 share the full name Craig Nelson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.