How Many People Are Named Tom?
An estimated 73,314 people in the United States have the first name Tom. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 67 years old, and Tom peaked in popularity in 1959 with 5,080 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Tom 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 Tom paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Tom is overwhelmingly male, 614 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 67, Tom is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
- Tom 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
73,314
About 1 in 4,675 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1959
5,080 births
Total Registered
140,303
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Tom
Tom is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 140,303 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Tom as a male name
Ranked #2,822 in 2024
46 male births in 2024
Peak: 1959 (5,068 births)
Tom as a female name
Ranked #8,093 in 1976
7 female births in 1976
Peak: 1925 (20 births)
Tom: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Tom span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 29,983 babies were registered. Tom has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Tom by Decade
How has Tom 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 | 3,798 | 3,786 | 12 | |
| 1890s | 3,341 | 3,335 | 6 | |
| 1900s | 3,312 | 3,293 | 19 | |
| 1910s | 7,725 | 7,623 | 102 | |
| 1920s | 12,065 | 11,923 | 142 | |
| 1930s | 16,526 | 16,427 | 99 | |
| 1940s | 29,983 | 29,884 | 99 | |
| 1950s | 23,808 | 23,754 | 54 | |
| 1960s | 29,263 | 29,200 | 63 | |
| 1970s | 4,882 | 4,864 | 18 | |
| 1980s | 1,985 | 1,985 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 1,454 | 1,454 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,097 | 1,097 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 786 | 786 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 278 | 278 | 0 | |
Tom by State
Birth registrations for Tom span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Ohio, Illinois. The lowest are in Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island. On average, about 2,464 Toms were registered per state.
Tom + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Tom as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Tom
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
Tom: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tom?
We estimate approximately 73,314 people named Tom 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 4,675 Americans share this first name.
Is Tom a common name?
Tom is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 140,303 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Tom most popular?
Tom reached peak popularity in 1959, when 5,080 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Tom is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Tom a male name?
Tom is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Tom Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Tom Smith, Tom Johnson, Tom 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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