Pete Smith
There are approximately 168 people named Pete Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,040,204 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Pete with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
168
1 in 2,040,204
Named Pete
21K
Alive today
Named Smith
2.7M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 21K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 60
Top Census group: White (61.3%)
Estimated bearers: 2.7M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #1
Per 100K: 792.79
Top ancestry: White (68.0%)
First name trend
Pete: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Pete. The peak year was 1959 with 768 births. The average person named Pete today is 60 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pete
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Pete, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 61.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Pete 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 Pete at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White61.3% · 17,537
- Hispanic or Latino27.8% · 7,942
- Black or African American4.4% · 1,261
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 958
- Two or more races1.8% · 518
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 401
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Smith surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Smith, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 68.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Smith 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 Smith at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.0% · 1,611,236
- Black or African American22.6% · 535,967
- Two or more races4.4% · 103,611
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 82,947
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19,744
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16,139
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Pete has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0062% of the US population, based on 21,162 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 Pete right now.
The surname Smith appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.7928%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 168 people with the full name Pete Smith. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Pete
Related
Other people with the surname Smith
FAQ
Pete Smith: questions and answers
How many people are named Pete Smith?
We estimate approximately 168 people in the United States share the full name Pete Smith. That works out to about 1 in 2,040,204 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0062%) with the surname frequency (792.79 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Pete Smith?
We classify Pete Smith as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,040,204 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Pete a male or female name?
Pete is predominantly male. Out of 43,644 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Pete 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 called Pete Smith?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.