Census Data: Top Male Names Dominate, Last Names Stay Steady

0:00It's April 14th, TV news. Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Fresh Census Bureau data from 2020 dropped some real knowledge on the most common first and last names in America. For the first time in 30 years, they dove deep into first names, and here's the twist, even with more women than men, the top five are all mostly. Male, Michael, John, and James lead the pack, with eight out of the top 10 being guy names, while only Mary and Maria rep for the ladies. Sixteen percent of men carry one of those top 10 male names, but for women, it's just under eight percent. Female names show way more variety overall. Officials point out this census is a snapshot of everybody alive right now, not what parents are picking for newborns today, that lines up with Social Security data, which tracks fresh baby names a year by year. There's barely any overlap, because trends shift fast with each generation, while the census averages out decades of choices.

1:01One expert called it a lifetime blend that smooths out yearly fads, shifting to last names, things they rock solid, eight names like Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, Davis, Jones, Miller, and Wilson have held top 15 spots since 1790, despite the population exploding over 84 times. Hispanic surnames are climbing, with Rodriguez hitting eighth place and pushing Davis down, plus Garcia and Martinez in the mix. Asian names are surging too, dominating the fastest growers in the top 1000. Other names got that deep rooted staying power, and folks bet Smith stays number one even in 2075.