Tom Watson
There are approximately 63 people named Tom Watson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 5,440,545 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Tom with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Watson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
63
1 in 5,440,545
Named Tom
73K
Alive today
Named Watson
294K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 73K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 67
Estimated bearers: 294K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #81
Per 100K: 85.63
Top ancestry: White (66.0%)
First name trend
Tom: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Tom. The peak year was 1959 with 5,080 births. The average person named Tom today is 67 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Watson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Watson, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 66.0%.
- White66.0%
- Black or African American27.9%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races2.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Tom has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0214% of the US population, based on 73,314 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Watson appears at a rate of 85.63 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0856%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 63 people with the full name Tom Watson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Tom
Related
Other people with the surname Watson
FAQ
Tom Watson: questions and answers
How many people are named Tom Watson?
We estimate approximately 63 people in the United States share the full name Tom Watson. That works out to about 1 in 5,440,545 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0214%) with the surname frequency (85.63 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Tom Watson?
We classify Tom Watson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 5,440,545 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Tom a male or female name?
Tom is predominantly male. Out of 140,303 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Tom 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 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.