How Many People Are Named Polk?
An estimated 5 people in the United States have the first name Polk. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 91 years old, and Polk peaked in popularity in 1917 with 8 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Polk 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 Polk paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 91, Polk is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1945.
- Polk is exceptionally rare. Fewer than 100 people with this name are estimated to be alive in the U.S. today.
Estimated Living Americans
5
About 1 in 68,550,868 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
91
years old
Peak Year
1917
8 births
Total Registered
80
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Polk
Polk is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 80 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Polk as a male name
Ranked #4,233 in 1954
5 male births in 1954
Peak: 1917 (8 births)
Polk: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Polk span from the 1880s to the 1950s, covering 5 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 29 babies were registered. Polk has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Polk by Decade
How has Polk 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.
Polk by State
Polk + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Polk as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Polk
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Polk: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Polk?
We estimate approximately 5 people named Polk 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 68,550,868 Americans share this first name.
Is Polk a common name?
Polk is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 18.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 80 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Polk most popular?
Polk reached peak popularity in 1917, when 8 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Polk is approximately 91 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Polk a male name?
Polk is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Polk Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Polk Smith, Polk Johnson, Polk 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