How Many People Are Named Sanford?
An estimated 6,143 people in the United States have the first name Sanford. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 67 years old, and Sanford peaked in popularity in 1929 with 315 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sanford 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 Sanford paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 67, Sanford is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
Estimated Living Americans
6,143
About 1 in 55,796 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1929
315 births
Total Registered
15,031
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sanford
Sanford is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 15,031 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Sanford as a male name
Ranked #7,159 in 2024
12 male births in 2024
Peak: 1929 (315 births)
Sanford: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sanford span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,694 babies were registered. Sanford has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sanford by Decade
How has Sanford 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.
Sanford by State
Birth registrations for Sanford span all 38 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Vermont, Rhode Island, North Dakota. On average, about 268 Sanfords were registered per state.
Sanford + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sanford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sanford
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sanford: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sanford?
We estimate approximately 6,143 people named Sanford 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 55,796 Americans share this first name.
Is Sanford a common name?
Sanford is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 15,031 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sanford most popular?
Sanford reached peak popularity in 1929, when 315 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sanford is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sanford a male name?
Sanford is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sanford Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sanford Smith, Sanford Johnson, Sanford 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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