Name Rarity
Guess which of two names is rarer in the US top 1000.
Look Up a Name
Search any name to see its rank and rarity in US baby names.
Data: US SSA top 1000 (2024)
About Name Rarity
Name Rarity looks up how common or rare any given name is. Type a name and see its global frequency rank, estimated population count, and a rarity rating that runs from "very common" (the top 1% of names by count) through several bands down to "extremely rare" (fewer than 1 in 100,000 people). Useful for naming a character, validating an assumption about how unusual your own name is, or settling a "have you ever met anyone called X?" argument.
Global and regional data. The lookup draws from publicly available birth-record and census datasets across multiple countries, so you can see how the same name varies in commonness across regions · "Mohammed" is one of the world's most common names overall but distributes unevenly; "Inger" is uncommon globally but normal in Scandinavia. The regional view shows where a name is concentrated.
First names and surnames. Toggle between given names and family names · the two distributions are very different (surnames have a long tail of single-family names; given names cluster around a few dozen popular choices in each language). The toggle lets you compare both sides of the same nominal record.
Rarity bands, explained. "Very common" covers the top ~1% of names by total count · roughly the names you'd encounter in everyday life. "Common" and "uncommon" cover the long middle. "Rare" and "very rare" cover names borne by a few thousand to a few hundred people. "Extremely rare" is fewer than 1 in 100,000 of the relevant population · names you might genuinely never have met someone with.
Part of the PlayMemorize family of browser tools. Runs entirely in your browser, works offline as a Progressive Web App.
FAQ
Q: Where does the name data come from?
From publicly available birth-record and census datasets. The data covers names registered across multiple countries and is aggregated to show global frequency ranks. Coverage depth varies by country · large nations with good public records (US, UK, Sweden, Germany, India) are most comprehensive.
Q: Does it work for surnames too?
Yes. Toggle between first names and family names to compare rarity across both categories. The distributions are very different · surnames have a long tail of single-family names while first names cluster around a few dozen popular choices in each language. The toggle exposes both sides of the same nominal record.
Q: How is the rarity rating calculated?
Names are ranked by estimated global frequency. "Very common" covers the top ~1% of names by count. "Extremely rare" is below 1-in-100,000 of the relevant population. Several intermediate bands cover the long middle · common, uncommon, rare, very rare.
Q: Why does my name look more / less common than I expected?
Two common reasons: the lookup is global, so a name common in your region might be rare globally (e.g. many Scandinavian names) or vice versa. And spellings matter · "Catherine" / "Katherine" / "Kathryn" are tracked separately, so a popular name with many spelling variants can look rarer than its phonetic version actually is. Try the regional view and alternate spellings if the global rating surprises you.
Q: Does it work offline?
Yes. PlayMemorize is a Progressive Web App. The name dataset is bundled locally so lookups work without an internet connection.
