How Many People Are Named Ned?
An estimated 7,258 people in the United States have the first name Ned. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 66 years old, and Ned peaked in popularity in 1939 with 319 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ned 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 Ned paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 66, Ned is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
Estimated Living Americans
7,258
About 1 in 47,224 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1939
319 births
Total Registered
17,289
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ned
Ned is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 17,289 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Ned as a male name
Ranked #7,567 in 2024
11 male births in 2024
Peak: 1939 (319 births)
Ned as a female name
Ranked #4,792 in 1931
5 female births in 1931
Peak: 1931 (5 births)
Ned: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ned span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,850 babies were registered. Ned has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ned by Decade
How has Ned 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.
Ned by State
Birth registrations for Ned span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina. The lowest are in North Dakota, Montana, District of Columbia. On average, about 298 Neds were registered per state.
Ned + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ned as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ned
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Ned: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ned?
We estimate approximately 7,258 people named Ned 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 47,224 Americans share this first name.
Is Ned a common name?
Ned is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 17,289 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ned most popular?
Ned reached peak popularity in 1939, when 319 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ned is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ned a male name?
Ned is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ned Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ned Smith, Ned Johnson, Ned 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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