Nelson Mandela
There are approximately 1 people named Nelson Mandela 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 Nelson with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Mandela. 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 Nelson
52K
Alive today
Named Mandela
171
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 52K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 47
Estimated bearers: 171
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #119,508
Per 100K: 0.05
Top ancestry: White (51.7%)
First name trend
Nelson: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Nelson. The peak year was 1959 with 1,083 births. The average person named Nelson today is 47 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Mandela surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Mandela, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 51.7%.
- White51.7%
- Black or African American31.7%
- Hispanic or Latino7.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5%
- Unknown or suppressed3.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Nelson has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0152% of the US population, based on 52,062 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Mandela appears at a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0000%.
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 Nelson Mandela. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Nelson
FAQ
Nelson Mandela: questions and answers
How many people are named Nelson Mandela?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Nelson Mandela. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0152%) with the surname frequency (0.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Nelson Mandela?
We classify Nelson Mandela as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Nelson a male or female name?
Nelson is predominantly male. Out of 79,829 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full Nelson 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.