Howard Bretherton
There are approximately 1 people named Howard Bretherton 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 Howard with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Bretherton. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Howard
131K
Alive today
Named Bretherton
167
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 131K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1921
Average age: 67
Top Census group: White (77.9%)
Estimated bearers: 167
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #123,817
Per 100K: 0.05
Top ancestry: White (91.1%)
First name trend
Howard: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Howard. The peak year was 1921 with 7,749 births. The average person named Howard today is 67 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Howard
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Howard, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 77.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Howard 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 Howard at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White77.9% · 105,094
- Black or African American14.1% · 18,997
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4,554
- Two or more races2.2% · 2,951
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2,314
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,001
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Bretherton surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Bretherton, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 91.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Bretherton 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 Bretherton at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White91.1% · 133
- Two or more races5.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Howard has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0381% of the US population, based on 130,588 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 Howard right now.
The surname Bretherton appears at a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0000%.
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 Howard Bretherton. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Howard
FAQ
Howard Bretherton: questions and answers
How many people are named Howard Bretherton?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Howard Bretherton. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0381%) with the surname frequency (0.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Howard Bretherton?
We classify Howard Bretherton as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Howard a male or female name?
Howard is predominantly male. Out of 348,120 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Howard 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 are named Howard Bretherton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the name Howard Bretherton is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.