Matthew Smith
There are approximately 12,282 people named Matthew Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 27,907 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Matthew with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
12,282
1 in 27,907
Named Matthew
1.5M
Alive today
Named Smith
2.7M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.5M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1983
Average age: 37
Top Census group: White (81.1%)
Estimated bearers: 2.7M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #1
Per 100K: 792.79
Top ancestry: White (68.0%)
First name trend
Matthew: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Matthew. The peak year was 1983 with 50,525 births. The average person named Matthew today is 37 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matthew
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Matthew, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 81.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Matthew 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 Matthew at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White81.1% · 1,066,314
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 130,112
- Two or more races3.3% · 43,484
- Black or African American3.0% · 39,996
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 29,049
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 6,193
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Smith surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Smith, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 68.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Smith 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 Smith at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.0% · 1,611,236
- Black or African American22.6% · 535,967
- Two or more races4.4% · 103,611
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 82,947
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19,744
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16,139
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Matthew has a living-bearer frequency of 0.4520% of the US population, based on 1,549,178 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 Matthew right now.
The surname Smith appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.7928%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 12,282 people with the full name Matthew Smith. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Matthew
Related
Other people with the surname Smith
FAQ
Matthew Smith: questions and answers
How many people are named Matthew Smith?
We estimate approximately 12,282 people in the United States share the full name Matthew Smith. That works out to about 1 in 27,907 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.4520%) with the surname frequency (792.79 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Matthew Smith?
We classify Matthew Smith as "Uncommon". About 1 in 27,907 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Matthew a male or female name?
Matthew is predominantly male. Out of 1,652,565 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Matthew 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 Matthew Smith?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.