How Many People Are Named Pat?
An estimated 29,680 people in the United States have the first name Pat. It is used for both genders, with 60.0% female. The average bearer is 73 years old, and Pat peaked in popularity in 1947 with 2,543 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Pat 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 Pat paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Pat is a genuinely unisex name, given to both boys and girls in roughly equal numbers.
- With an average bearer age of 73, Pat is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1963.
- Pat has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
29,680
About 1 in 11,548 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
60.0% confidence
Average Age
73
years old
Peak Year
1947
2,543 births
Total Registered
66,854
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Pat
Pat is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (40.0%) and females (60.0%). Out of 66,854 total births registered, 26,732 were male and 40,122 were female.
Pat as a male name
Ranked #13,520 in 2014
5 male births in 2014
Peak: 1960 (999 births)
Pat as a female name
Ranked #12,649 in 1991
6 female births in 1991
Peak: 1941 (1,900 births)
Pat: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Pat span from the 1880s to the 2010s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 21,637 babies were registered. Pat has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Pat by Decade
How has Pat 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 | 220 | 220 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 278 | 266 | 12 | |
| 1900s | 439 | 366 | 73 | |
| 1910s | 1,777 | 1,323 | 454 | |
| 1920s | 5,241 | 2,725 | 2,516 | |
| 1930s | 16,771 | 4,309 | 12,462 | |
| 1940s | 21,637 | 5,487 | 16,150 | |
| 1950s | 10,076 | 4,820 | 5,256 | |
| 1960s | 8,930 | 6,046 | 2,884 | |
| 1970s | 1,029 | 787 | 242 | |
| 1980s | 296 | 229 | 67 | |
| 1990s | 117 | 111 | 6 | |
| 2000s | 33 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
Pat by State
Birth registrations for Pat span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Illinois. The lowest are in Maine, Alaska, Hawaii. On average, about 1,257 Pats were registered per state.
Pat + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Pat as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Pat
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Pat: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pat?
We estimate approximately 29,680 people named Pat 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 11,548 Americans share this first name.
Is Pat a common name?
Pat is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 66,854 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Pat most popular?
Pat reached peak popularity in 1947, when 2,543 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Pat is approximately 73 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Pat a female name?
Pat is predominantly female. 60.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Pat Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Pat Smith, Pat Johnson, Pat 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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