Gertrude Elion
There are approximately 1 people named Gertrude Elion 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 Gertrude with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Elion. 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 Gertrude
12K
Alive today
Named Elion
308
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 12K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1917
Average age: 80
Estimated bearers: 308
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #75,799
Per 100K: 0.09
Top ancestry: Black (67.3%)
First name trend
Gertrude: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Gertrude. The peak year was 1917 with 6,315 births. The average person named Gertrude today is 80 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Elion surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Elion, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 67.3%.
- Black or African American67.3%
- White27.9%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races2.4%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Gertrude has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0036% of the US population, based on 12,413 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Elion appears at a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0001%.
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 Gertrude Elion. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Gertrude Elion: questions and answers
How many people are named Gertrude Elion?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Gertrude Elion. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0036%) with the surname frequency (0.09 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Gertrude Elion?
We classify Gertrude Elion as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Gertrude a male or female name?
Gertrude is predominantly female. Out of 177,651 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Gertrude 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.