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 Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Kanye
1.4K
Alive today
Named West
217K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.4K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2004
Average age: 19
Top Census group: Black or African American (82.1%)
Estimated bearers: 217K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #127
Per 100K: 63.35
Top ancestry: White (72.5%)
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
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kanye
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Kanye, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 82.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kanye 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 Kanye at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American82.1% · 971
- Two or more races8.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 55
- White3.2% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 5
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the West surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname West, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 72.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname West 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 West at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White72.5% · 137,255
- Black or African American17.8% · 33,776
- Two or more races4.7% · 8,846
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 6,794
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,483
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,206
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).
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 Kanye right now.
The surname West appears at a rate of 63.35 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0634%.
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 (63.35 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 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 Americans are named Kanye West?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.