How Many People Are Named Kelvin?
An estimated 47,166 people in the United States have the first name Kelvin. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 43 years old, and Kelvin peaked in popularity in 1961 with 1,380 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Kelvin 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 Kelvin paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Kelvin is overwhelmingly male, 304 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
47,166
About 1 in 7,267 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
43
years old
Peak Year
1961
1,380 births
Total Registered
51,638
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Kelvin
Kelvin is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 51,638 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Kelvin as a male name
Ranked #1,080 in 2024
201 male births in 2024
Peak: 1961 (1,370 births)
Kelvin as a female name
Ranked #17,461 in 2004
5 female births in 2004
Peak: 1972 (13 births)
Kelvin: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Kelvin span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 11,951 babies were registered. Kelvin has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Kelvin by Decade
How has Kelvin 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.
Kelvin by State
Birth registrations for Kelvin span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, California. The lowest are in Montana, Delaware, Maine. On average, about 1,027 Kelvins were registered per state.
Kelvin + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelvin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Kelvin
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
Kelvin: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelvin?
We estimate approximately 47,166 people named Kelvin 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 7,267 Americans share this first name.
Is Kelvin a common name?
Kelvin is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 51,638 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Kelvin most popular?
Kelvin reached peak popularity in 1961, when 1,380 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Kelvin is approximately 43 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Kelvin a male name?
Kelvin is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Kelvin Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Kelvin Smith, Kelvin Johnson, Kelvin 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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