Denzel Washington
There are approximately 6 people named Denzel Washington living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 57,125,723 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Denzel with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Washington. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
6
1 in 57,125,723
Named Denzel
11K
Alive today
Named Washington
197K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 11K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1993
Average age: 26
Top Census group: Black or African American (64.5%)
Estimated bearers: 197K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #148
Per 100K: 57.57
Top ancestry: Black (83.6%)
First name trend
Denzel: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Denzel. The peak year was 1993 with 869 births. The average person named Denzel today is 26 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denzel
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Denzel, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 64.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Denzel 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 Denzel at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American64.5% · 5,521
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 1,651
- White7.2% · 616
- Two or more races5.4% · 461
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 247
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 62
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Washington surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Washington, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 83.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Washington 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 Washington at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American83.6% · 143,828
- Two or more races6.0% · 10,401
- White5.8% · 10,012
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 5,967
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,120
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 747
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Denzel has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0031% of the US population, based on 10,673 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 Denzel right now.
The surname Washington appears at a rate of 57.57 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0576%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 6 people with the full name Denzel Washington. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Washington
FAQ
Denzel Washington: questions and answers
How many people are named Denzel Washington?
We estimate approximately 6 people in the United States share the full name Denzel Washington. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0031%) with the surname frequency (57.57 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Denzel Washington?
We classify Denzel Washington as "Very Rare". About 1 in 57,125,723 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Denzel a male or female name?
Denzel is predominantly male. Out of 11,603 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Denzel 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 Denzel Washington?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the name Denzel Washington is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.