Melissa Gilbert
There are approximately 251 people named Melissa Gilbert living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,365,555 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Melissa with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Gilbert. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
251
1 in 1,365,555
Named Melissa
691K
Alive today
Named Gilbert
125K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 691K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1979
Average age: 45
Top Census group: White (73.9%)
Estimated bearers: 125K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #284
Per 100K: 36.41
Top ancestry: White (75.1%)
First name trend
Melissa: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Melissa. The peak year was 1979 with 34,179 births. The average person named Melissa today is 45 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melissa
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Melissa, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 73.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Melissa 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 Melissa at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White73.9% · 498,875
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 110,797
- Black or African American4.2% · 28,194
- Two or more races3.1% · 20,708
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 12,239
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4,412
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Gilbert surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Gilbert, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Gilbert 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 Gilbert at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White75.1% · 81,708
- Black or African American15.7% · 17,135
- Two or more races4.0% · 4,350
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4,137
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 756
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 746
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Melissa has a living-bearer frequency of 0.2015% of the US population, based on 690,697 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 Melissa right now.
The surname Gilbert appears at a rate of 36.41 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0364%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 251 people with the full name Melissa Gilbert. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Melissa
Related
Other people with the surname Gilbert
FAQ
Melissa Gilbert: questions and answers
How many people are named Melissa Gilbert?
We estimate approximately 251 people in the United States share the full name Melissa Gilbert. That works out to about 1 in 1,365,555 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.2015%) with the surname frequency (36.41 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Melissa Gilbert?
We classify Melissa Gilbert as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,365,555 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Melissa a male or female name?
Melissa is predominantly female. Out of 761,881 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Melissa 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 are called Melissa Gilbert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.