Kristen Chen
There are approximately 161 people named Kristen Chen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,128,909 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Kristen with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Chen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
161
1 in 2,128,909
Named Kristen
205K
Alive today
Named Chen
268K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 205K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1982
Average age: 41
Top Census group: White (85.8%)
Estimated bearers: 268K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #93
Per 100K: 78.22
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (95.4%)
First name trend
Kristen: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kristen. The peak year was 1982 with 9,595 births. The average person named Kristen today is 41 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kristen
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Kristen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kristen 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 Kristen at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.8% · 170,798
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 9,947
- Black or African American3.9% · 7,691
- Two or more races3.1% · 6,086
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 3,577
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,009
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Chen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Chen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Chen 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 Chen at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.4% · 223,126
- White2.1% · 4,829
- Two or more races1.5% · 3,413
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1,358
- Black or African American0.4% · 1,049
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 23
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kristen has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0599% of the US population, based on 205,388 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 Kristen right now.
The surname Chen appears at a rate of 78.22 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0782%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 161 people with the full name Kristen Chen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Kristen
Related
Other people with the surname Chen
FAQ
Kristen Chen: questions and answers
How many people are named Kristen Chen?
We estimate approximately 161 people in the United States share the full name Kristen Chen. That works out to about 1 in 2,128,909 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0599%) with the surname frequency (78.22 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kristen Chen?
We classify Kristen Chen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,128,909 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kristen a male or female name?
Kristen is predominantly female. Out of 220,847 total SSA registrations, 1.0% were male and 99.0% were female. See the full Kristen 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 have the full name Kristen Chen?
If you just want to know how common the name Kristen Chen is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.