How Many People Are Named Palmer?
An estimated 12,986 people in the United States have the first name Palmer. It is used for both genders, with 52.9% male. The average bearer is 16 years old, and Palmer peaked in popularity in 2024 with 1,423 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Palmer 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 Palmer paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Palmer has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
- Palmer is a genuinely unisex name, given to both boys and girls in roughly equal numbers.
- Palmer is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 16, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
12,986
About 1 in 26,394 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
52.9% confidence
Average Age
16
years old
Peak Year
2024
1,423 births
Total Registered
17,090
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Palmer
Palmer is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (52.9%) and females (47.1%). Out of 17,090 total births registered, 9,035 were male and 8,055 were female.
Palmer as a male name
Ranked #1,076 in 2024
202 male births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (240 births)
Palmer as a female name
Ranked #258 in 2024
1,221 female births in 2024
Peak: 2024 (1,221 births)
Palmer: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Palmer span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2020s, when 6,339 babies were registered. Palmer remains highly popular today, with recent registration numbers near its historical peak.
Palmer by Decade
How has Palmer 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.
Palmer by State
Birth registrations for Palmer span all 43 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Florida, Georgia. The lowest are in Alaska, Delaware, Nevada. On average, about 253 Palmers were registered per state.
Palmer + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Palmer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Palmer
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Palmer: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Palmer?
We estimate approximately 12,986 people named Palmer 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 26,394 Americans share this first name.
Is Palmer a common name?
Palmer is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 17,090 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Palmer most popular?
Palmer reached peak popularity in 2024, when 1,423 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Palmer is approximately 16 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Palmer a male name?
Palmer is predominantly male. 52.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Palmer Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Palmer Smith, Palmer Johnson, Palmer 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.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me