Merlin Olsen
There are approximately 1 people named Merlin Olsen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Merlin with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Olsen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Merlin
6.7K
Alive today
Named Olsen
69K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 6.7K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1927
Average age: 55
Estimated bearers: 69K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #566
Per 100K: 20.12
Top ancestry: White (93.7%)
First name trend
Merlin: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Merlin. The peak year was 1927 with 405 births. The average person named Merlin today is 55 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Olsen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Olsen, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 93.7%.
- White93.7%
- Hispanic or Latino2.6%
- Two or more races1.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Black or African American0.3%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Merlin has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0020% of the US population, based on 6,720 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Olsen appears at a rate of 20.12 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0201%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Merlin Olsen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Olsen
FAQ
Merlin Olsen: questions and answers
How many people are named Merlin Olsen?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Merlin Olsen. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0020%) with the surname frequency (20.12 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Merlin Olsen?
We classify Merlin Olsen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Merlin a male or female name?
Merlin is predominantly male. Out of 15,891 total SSA registrations, 94.3% were male and 5.7% were female. See the full Merlin 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 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.