How Many People Are Named Hal?
An estimated 9,147 people in the United States have the first name Hal. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 64 years old, and Hal peaked in popularity in 1956 with 598 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Hal 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 Hal paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
9,147
About 1 in 37,472 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.9% confidence
Average Age
64
years old
Peak Year
1956
598 births
Total Registered
16,758
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Hal
Hal is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 16,758 total births registered, 99.9% were male.
Hal as a male name
Ranked #3,471 in 2024
33 male births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (598 births)
Hal as a female name
Ranked #4,526 in 1926
6 female births in 1926
Peak: 1924 (6 births)
Hal: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Hal span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 4,422 babies were registered. Hal has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Hal by Decade
How has Hal 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.
Hal by State
Birth registrations for Hal span all 43 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, California. The lowest are in Arizona, Wyoming, Massachusetts. On average, about 276 Hals were registered per state.
Hal + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Hal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Hal
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Hal: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hal?
We estimate approximately 9,147 people named Hal 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 37,472 Americans share this first name.
Is Hal a common name?
Hal is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 16,758 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Hal most popular?
Hal reached peak popularity in 1956, when 598 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Hal is approximately 64 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Hal a male name?
Hal is predominantly male. 99.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Hal Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Hal Smith, Hal Johnson, Hal 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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