Katherine Dunham
There are approximately 33 people named Katherine Dunham living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 10,386,495 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Katherine with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Dunham. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
33
1 in 10,386,495
Named Katherine
457K
Alive today
Named Dunham
25K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 457K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1990
Average age: 42
Top Census group: White (79.2%)
Estimated bearers: 25K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,621
Per 100K: 7.20
Top ancestry: White (81.9%)
First name trend
Katherine: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Katherine. The peak year was 1990 with 11,659 births. The average person named Katherine today is 42 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katherine
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Katherine, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 79.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Katherine 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 Katherine at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White79.2% · 372,743
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 53,309
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 14,743
- Black or African American3.0% · 14,295
- Two or more races2.9% · 13,541
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1,948
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Dunham surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Dunham, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 81.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Dunham 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 Dunham at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White81.9% · 17,642
- Black or African American9.8% · 2,102
- Two or more races4.0% · 867
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 590
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 167
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 160
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Katherine has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1332% of the US population, based on 456,593 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 Katherine right now.
The surname Dunham appears at a rate of 7.20 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0072%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 33 people with the full name Katherine Dunham. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Katherine
Related
Other people with the surname Dunham
FAQ
Katherine Dunham: questions and answers
How many people are named Katherine Dunham?
We estimate approximately 33 people in the United States share the full name Katherine Dunham. That works out to about 1 in 10,386,495 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1332%) with the surname frequency (7.20 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Katherine Dunham?
We classify Katherine Dunham as "Very Rare". About 1 in 10,386,495 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Katherine a male or female name?
Katherine is predominantly female. Out of 651,062 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Katherine 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 Katherine Dunham?
If you just want to know how many people are called Katherine Dunham, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.