Harry Potter
There are approximately 30 people named Harry Potter living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 11,425,145 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Harry with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Potter. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
30
1 in 11,425,145
Named Harry
130K
Alive today
Named Potter
79K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 130K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 66
Top Census group: White (76.7%)
Estimated bearers: 79K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #471
Per 100K: 23.08
Top ancestry: White (85.7%)
First name trend
Harry: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Harry. The peak year was 1918 with 9,938 births. The average person named Harry today is 66 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harry
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Harry, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 76.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Harry 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 Harry at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White76.7% · 106,277
- Black or African American11.2% · 15,491
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 6,562
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 5,941
- Two or more races2.2% · 3,048
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1,222
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Potter surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Potter, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 85.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Potter 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 Potter at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.7% · 59,158
- Black or African American5.1% · 3,537
- Two or more races4.2% · 2,895
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 2,365
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 527
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 515
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Harry has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0379% of the US population, based on 129,995 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 Harry right now.
The surname Potter appears at a rate of 23.08 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0231%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 30 people with the full name Harry Potter. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Harry
Related
Other people with the surname Potter
FAQ
Harry Potter: questions and answers
How many people are named Harry Potter?
We estimate approximately 30 people in the United States share the full name Harry Potter. That works out to about 1 in 11,425,145 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0379%) with the surname frequency (23.08 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Harry Potter?
We classify Harry Potter as "Very Rare". About 1 in 11,425,145 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Harry a male or female name?
Harry is predominantly male. Out of 425,549 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Harry 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 Harry Potter?
Want to know how many people are called Harry Potter? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.