Joan Allen
There are approximately 293 people named Joan Allen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,169,810 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joan with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Allen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
293
1 in 1,169,810
Named Joan
188K
Alive today
Named Allen
534K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 188K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1932
Average age: 72
Top Census group: White (87.5%)
Estimated bearers: 534K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #35
Per 100K: 155.77
Top ancestry: White (64.8%)
First name trend
Joan: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Joan. The peak year was 1932 with 21,132 births. The average person named Joan today is 72 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joan
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Joan, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joan 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 Joan at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.5% · 268,191
- Black or African American5.7% · 17,521
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 11,125
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 5,315
- Two or more races1.2% · 3,554
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 916
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Allen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Allen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 64.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Allen 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 Allen at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White64.8% · 301,607
- Black or African American25.6% · 119,112
- Two or more races4.6% · 21,635
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 16,476
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 3,608
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3,145
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Joan has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0549% of the US population, based on 188,263 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 Joan right now.
The surname Allen appears at a rate of 155.77 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1558%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 293 people with the full name Joan Allen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Joan
Related
Other people with the surname Allen
FAQ
Joan Allen: questions and answers
How many people are named Joan Allen?
We estimate approximately 293 people in the United States share the full name Joan Allen. That works out to about 1 in 1,169,810 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0549%) with the surname frequency (155.77 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joan Allen?
We classify Joan Allen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,169,810 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Joan a male or female name?
Joan is predominantly female. Out of 488,485 total SSA registrations, 1.5% were male and 98.5% were female. See the full Joan 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 Joan Allen?
See how many people are called Joan Allen on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.