Michael Clayton
There are approximately 674 people named Michael Clayton living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 508,538 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Michael with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Clayton. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
674
1 in 508,538
Named Michael
3.7M
Alive today
Named Clayton
62K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 3.7M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1957
Average age: 50
Top Census group: White (79.0%)
Estimated bearers: 62K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #611
Per 100K: 18.02
Top ancestry: White (66.7%)
First name trend
Michael: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Michael. The peak year was 1957 with 93,041 births. The average person named Michael today is 50 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michael
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Michael, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 79.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Michael 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 Michael at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White79.0% · 2,747,318
- Black or African American7.9% · 274,177
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 270,721
- Two or more races2.9% · 99,581
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 66,408
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 18,510
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Clayton surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Clayton, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 66.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Clayton 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 Clayton at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White66.7% · 35,908
- Black or African American24.6% · 13,240
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,391
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,740
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 341
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 255
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Michael has a living-bearer frequency of 1.0908% of the US population, based on 3,738,917 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 Michael right now.
The surname Clayton appears at a rate of 18.02 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0180%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 674 people with the full name Michael Clayton. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Michael
Related
Other people with the surname Clayton
FAQ
Michael Clayton: questions and answers
How many people are named Michael Clayton?
We estimate approximately 674 people in the United States share the full name Michael Clayton. That works out to about 1 in 508,538 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (1.0908%) with the surname frequency (18.02 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Michael Clayton?
We classify Michael Clayton as "Very Rare". About 1 in 508,538 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Michael a male or female name?
Michael is predominantly male. Out of 4,440,391 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Michael 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 Michael Clayton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.