Stephen Carpenter
There are approximately 283 people named Stephen Carpenter living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,211,146 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Stephen with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Carpenter. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
283
1 in 1,211,146
Named Stephen
681K
Alive today
Named Carpenter
143K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 681K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1952
Average age: 55
Top Census group: White (86.5%)
Estimated bearers: 143K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #247
Per 100K: 41.61
Top ancestry: White (83.0%)
First name trend
Stephen: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Stephen. The peak year was 1952 with 23,081 births. The average person named Stephen today is 55 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stephen
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Stephen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 86.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Stephen 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 Stephen at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White86.5% · 575,833
- Black or African American5.0% · 33,012
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 25,704
- Two or more races2.4% · 16,104
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 12,355
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2,585
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Carpenter surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Carpenter, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 83.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Carpenter 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 Carpenter at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White83.0% · 103,208
- Black or African American8.3% · 10,378
- Two or more races4.1% · 5,074
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4,099
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 862
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 743
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Stephen has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1986% of the US population, based on 680,609 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 Stephen right now.
The surname Carpenter appears at a rate of 41.61 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0416%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 283 people with the full name Stephen Carpenter. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Stephen
Related
Other people with the surname Carpenter
FAQ
Stephen Carpenter: questions and answers
How many people are named Stephen Carpenter?
We estimate approximately 283 people in the United States share the full name Stephen Carpenter. That works out to about 1 in 1,211,146 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1986%) with the surname frequency (41.61 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Stephen Carpenter?
We classify Stephen Carpenter as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,211,146 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Stephen a male or female name?
Stephen is predominantly male. Out of 866,834 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Stephen 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 Stephen Carpenter?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.