Laura Richards
There are approximately 242 people named Laura Richards living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,416,340 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Laura with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Richards. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
242
1 in 1,416,340
Named Laura
573K
Alive today
Named Richards
145K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 573K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1964
Average age: 51
Top Census group: White (74.3%)
Estimated bearers: 145K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #236
Per 100K: 42.20
Top ancestry: White (75.1%)
First name trend
Laura: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Laura. The peak year was 1964 with 19,008 births. The average person named Laura today is 51 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laura
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Laura, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 74.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Laura 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 Laura at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White74.3% · 505,080
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 130,961
- Black or African American2.7% · 18,562
- Two or more races2.1% · 14,341
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 8,209
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2,701
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Richards surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Richards, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Richards 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 Richards at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White75.1% · 94,740
- Black or African American15.1% · 18,990
- Two or more races4.0% · 5,060
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 5,006
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1,239
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1,103
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Laura has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1671% of the US population, based on 572,579 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 Laura right now.
The surname Richards appears at a rate of 42.20 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0422%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 242 people with the full name Laura Richards. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Laura
Related
Other people with the surname Richards
FAQ
Laura Richards: questions and answers
How many people are named Laura Richards?
We estimate approximately 242 people in the United States share the full name Laura Richards. That works out to about 1 in 1,416,340 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1671%) with the surname frequency (42.20 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Laura Richards?
We classify Laura Richards as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,416,340 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Laura a male or female name?
Laura is predominantly female. Out of 803,566 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Laura 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 share the full name Laura Richards?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.