Patricia Sullivan
There are approximately 635 people named Patricia Sullivan living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 539,771 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Patricia with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Sullivan. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
635
1 in 539,771
Named Patricia
893K
Alive today
Named Sullivan
244K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 893K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1951
Average age: 68
Top Census group: White (77.6%)
Estimated bearers: 244K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #107
Per 100K: 71.16
Top ancestry: White (85.1%)
First name trend
Patricia: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Patricia. The peak year was 1951 with 56,574 births. The average person named Patricia today is 68 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patricia
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Patricia, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 77.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Patricia 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 Patricia at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White77.6% · 923,760
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 125,580
- Black or African American8.6% · 102,689
- Two or more races1.8% · 21,407
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 10,869
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5,522
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Sullivan surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Sullivan, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 85.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Sullivan 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 Sullivan at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.1% · 181,015
- Black or African American6.9% · 14,770
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 7,307
- Two or more races3.3% · 7,020
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,491
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,098
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Patricia has a living-bearer frequency of 0.2604% of the US population, based on 892,673 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 Patricia right now.
The surname Sullivan appears at a rate of 71.16 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0712%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 635 people with the full name Patricia Sullivan. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Patricia
Related
Other people with the surname Sullivan
FAQ
Patricia Sullivan: questions and answers
How many people are named Patricia Sullivan?
We estimate approximately 635 people in the United States share the full name Patricia Sullivan. That works out to about 1 in 539,771 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.2604%) with the surname frequency (71.16 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Patricia Sullivan?
We classify Patricia Sullivan as "Very Rare". About 1 in 539,771 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Patricia a male or female name?
Patricia is predominantly female. Out of 1,578,408 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Patricia 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 Americans are named Patricia Sullivan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.