Kanye West
There are approximately 1 people named Kanye West 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 Kanye with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname West. 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 Kanye
1.4K
Alive today
Named West
228K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.4K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2004
Average age: 19
Estimated bearers: 228K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #125
Per 100K: 66.38
Top ancestry: White (75.5%)
First name trend
Kanye: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kanye. The peak year was 2004 with 528 births. The average person named Kanye today is 19 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the West surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname West, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.5%.
- White75.5%
- Black or African American18.5%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- Two or more races2.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kanye has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0004% of the US population, based on 1,407 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname West appears at a rate of 66.38 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0664%.
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 Kanye West. 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 West
FAQ
Kanye West: questions and answers
How many people are named Kanye West?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Kanye West. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0004%) with the surname frequency (66.38 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kanye West?
We classify Kanye West as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kanye a male or female name?
Kanye is predominantly male. Out of 1,423 total SSA registrations, 98.3% were male and 1.7% were female. See the full Kanye 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.