How Many People Are Named Milton?
An estimated 46,147 people in the United States have the first name Milton. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 62 years old, and Milton peaked in popularity in 1920 with 2,603 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Milton 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 Milton paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Milton is overwhelmingly male, 615 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Milton has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
46,147
About 1 in 7,427 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1920
2,603 births
Total Registered
118,422
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Milton
Milton is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 118,422 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Milton as a male name
Ranked #1,428 in 2024
128 male births in 2024
Peak: 1920 (2,592 births)
Milton as a female name
Ranked #10,455 in 1989
7 female births in 1989
Peak: 1918 (21 births)
Milton: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Milton span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 24,357 babies were registered. Milton has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Milton by Decade
How has Milton 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,479 | 1,479 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 1,745 | 1,745 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 2,700 | 2,695 | 5 | |
| 1910s | 17,625 | 17,522 | 103 | |
| 1920s | 24,357 | 24,198 | 159 | |
| 1930s | 15,832 | 15,729 | 103 | |
| 1940s | 14,937 | 14,879 | 58 | |
| 1950s | 14,679 | 14,580 | 99 | |
| 1960s | 9,064 | 9,002 | 62 | |
| 1970s | 4,714 | 4,695 | 19 | |
| 1980s | 3,750 | 3,743 | 7 | |
| 1990s | 2,832 | 2,832 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 2,390 | 2,390 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,632 | 1,632 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 686 | 686 | 0 | |
Milton by State
Birth registrations for Milton span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 2,119 Miltons were registered per state.
Milton + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Milton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Milton
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Milton: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milton?
We estimate approximately 46,147 people named Milton 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 7,427 Americans share this first name.
Is Milton a common name?
Milton is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 118,422 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Milton most popular?
Milton reached peak popularity in 1920, when 2,603 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Milton is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Milton a male name?
Milton is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Milton Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Milton Smith, Milton Johnson, Milton 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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