Oliver Shepard
There are approximately 27 people named Oliver Shepard living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 12,694,605 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Oliver with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Shepard. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
27
1 in 12,694,605
Named Oliver
218K
Alive today
Named Shepard
42K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 218K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 2024
Average age: 15
Top Census group: White (65.2%)
Estimated bearers: 42K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #928
Per 100K: 12.30
Top ancestry: White (74.4%)
First name trend
Oliver: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Oliver. The peak year was 2024 with 15,368 births. The average person named Oliver today is 15 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oliver
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Oliver, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 65.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Oliver 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 Oliver at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White65.2% · 95,448
- Hispanic or Latino18.5% · 27,049
- Two or more races6.0% · 8,854
- Black or African American5.8% · 8,495
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 5,988
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 653
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Shepard surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Shepard, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 74.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Shepard 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 Shepard at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White74.4% · 27,371
- Black or African American16.0% · 5,886
- Two or more races4.3% · 1,573
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,316
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 353
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 271
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Oliver has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0636% of the US population, based on 217,861 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 Oliver right now.
The surname Shepard appears at a rate of 12.30 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0123%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 27 people with the full name Oliver Shepard. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Oliver
Related
Other people with the surname Shepard
FAQ
Oliver Shepard: questions and answers
How many people are named Oliver Shepard?
We estimate approximately 27 people in the United States share the full name Oliver Shepard. That works out to about 1 in 12,694,605 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0636%) with the surname frequency (12.30 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Oliver Shepard?
We classify Oliver Shepard as "Very Rare". About 1 in 12,694,605 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Oliver a male or female name?
Oliver is predominantly male. Out of 255,607 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Oliver 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 named Oliver Shepard?
You can see how many people are called Oliver Shepard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.