Dalai Lama
There are approximately 1 people named Dalai Lama 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 Dalai with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Lama. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Dalai
5
Alive today
Named Lama
3.4K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 5
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 2008
Average age: 18
Estimated bearers: 3.4K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #10,782
Per 100K: 1.00
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (56.7%)
First name trend
Dalai: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Dalai. The peak year was 2008 with 5 births. The average person named Dalai today is 18 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Lama surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Lama, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.7%.
- Asian and Pacific Islander56.7%
- White24.9%
- Hispanic or Latino15.1%
- Two or more races2.1%
- Black or African American1.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Dalai has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0000% of the US population, based on 5 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Lama appears at a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0010%.
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 Dalai Lama. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Dalai Lama: questions and answers
How many people are named Dalai Lama?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Dalai Lama. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0000%) with the surname frequency (1.00 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Dalai Lama?
We classify Dalai Lama as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Dalai a male or female name?
Dalai is predominantly female. Out of 5 total SSA registrations, 0.0% were male and 100.0% were female. See the full Dalai 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 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.