Robert Lee
There are approximately 6,516 people named Robert Lee living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 52,602 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Robert with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Lee. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
6,516
1 in 52,602
Named Robert
2.8M
Alive today
Named Lee
798K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.8M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1947
Average age: 60
Top Census group: White (82.7%)
Estimated bearers: 798K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #19
Per 100K: 232.74
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (43.9%)
First name trend
Robert: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Robert. The peak year was 1947 with 91,891 births. The average person named Robert today is 60 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Robert
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Robert, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 82.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Robert 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 Robert at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White82.7% · 2,281,552
- Black or African American7.2% · 197,710
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 173,163
- Two or more races2.4% · 65,000
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 27,114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14,793
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Lee surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Lee, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 43.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Lee 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 Lee at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Asian and Pacific Islander43.9% · 305,384
- White33.2% · 231,237
- Black or African American15.3% · 106,166
- Two or more races4.2% · 28,967
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 17,627
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6,276
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Robert has a living-bearer frequency of 0.8168% of the US population, based on 2,799,566 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 Robert right now.
The surname Lee appears at a rate of 232.74 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.2327%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 6,516 people with the full name Robert Lee. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Robert
Related
Other people with the surname Lee
FAQ
Robert Lee: questions and answers
How many people are named Robert Lee?
We estimate approximately 6,516 people in the United States share the full name Robert Lee. That works out to about 1 in 52,602 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.8168%) with the surname frequency (232.74 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Robert Lee?
We classify Robert Lee as "Rare". About 1 in 52,602 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Robert a male or female name?
Robert is predominantly male. Out of 4,866,007 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Robert 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 have the full name Robert Lee?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Robert Lee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.