How Many People Are Named Lafayette?
An estimated 2,487 people in the United States have the first name Lafayette. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 53 years old, and Lafayette peaked in popularity in 1921 with 86 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lafayette 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 Lafayette paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
2,487
About 1 in 137,818 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
53
years old
Peak Year
1921
86 births
Total Registered
4,875
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lafayette
Lafayette is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 4,875 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Lafayette as a male name
Ranked #9,472 in 2024
8 male births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (86 births)
Lafayette as a female name
Ranked #8,203 in 1974
6 female births in 1974
Peak: 1974 (6 births)
Lafayette: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lafayette span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 576 babies were registered. Lafayette has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Lafayette by Decade
How has Lafayette 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.
Lafayette by State
Birth registrations for Lafayette span all 19 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, California. The lowest are in Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky. On average, about 64 Lafayettes were registered per state.
Lafayette + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lafayette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lafayette
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lafayette: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lafayette?
We estimate approximately 2,487 people named Lafayette 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 137,818 Americans share this first name.
Is Lafayette a common name?
Lafayette is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,875 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lafayette most popular?
Lafayette reached peak popularity in 1921, when 86 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lafayette is approximately 53 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lafayette a male name?
Lafayette is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lafayette Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lafayette Smith, Lafayette Johnson, Lafayette 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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