William Swain
There are approximately 188 people named William Swain living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,823,161 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name William with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Swain. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
188
1 in 1,823,161
Named William
2.3M
Alive today
Named Swain
28K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.3M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1947
Average age: 54
Top Census group: White (83.3%)
Estimated bearers: 28K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,443
Per 100K: 8.05
Top ancestry: White (62.6%)
First name trend
William: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name William. The peak year was 1947 with 67,155 births. The average person named William today is 54 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for William
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name William, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 83.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name William 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 William at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White83.3% · 1,866,221
- Black or African American6.9% · 153,992
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 114,833
- Two or more races2.8% · 61,725
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 31,382
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11,959
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Swain surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Swain, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 62.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Swain 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 Swain at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White62.6% · 15,053
- Black or African American25.9% · 6,239
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,213
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 813
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 569
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 160
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name William has a living-bearer frequency of 0.6813% of the US population, based on 2,335,115 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 William right now.
The surname Swain appears at a rate of 8.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0080%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 188 people with the full name William Swain. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named William
Related
Other people with the surname Swain
FAQ
William Swain: questions and answers
How many people are named William Swain?
We estimate approximately 188 people in the United States share the full name William Swain. That works out to about 1 in 1,823,161 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.6813%) with the surname frequency (8.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name William Swain?
We classify William Swain as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,823,161 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is William a male or female name?
William is predominantly male. Out of 4,205,026 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full William 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 share the full name William Swain?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.