How Many People Are Named German?
An estimated 9,511 people in the United States have the first name German. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 29 years old, and German peaked in popularity in 1991 with 304 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of German as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name German paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
9,511
About 1 in 36,038 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
29
years old
Peak Year
1991
304 births
Total Registered
10,181
since 1880
Gender Distribution for German
German is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 10,181 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
German as a male name
Ranked #1,652 in 2024
102 male births in 2024
Peak: 1991 (304 births)
German as a female name
Ranked #14,264 in 1993
5 female births in 1993
Peak: 1993 (5 births)
German: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for German span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 2,493 babies were registered. German has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
German by Decade
How has German tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
German by State
Birth registrations for German span all 21 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pennsylvania. On average, about 368 Germans were registered per state.
German + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with German as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to German
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
German: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named German?
We estimate approximately 9,511 people named German are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 36,038 Americans share this first name.
Is German a common name?
German is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,181 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was German most popular?
German reached peak popularity in 1991, when 304 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named German is approximately 29 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is German a male name?
German is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many German Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: German Smith, German Johnson, German Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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