How Many People Are Named Turner?

An estimated 7,943 people in the United States have the first name Turner. It is predominantly male (96.2%). The average bearer is 24 years old, and Turner peaked in popularity in 2019 with 263 births that year.

Below you will find a full statistical profile of Turner as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, state-by-state birth registrations, and, when available, a 2020 Census snapshot showing who had the name at that point in time. You can also check how many people share the full name Turner paired with any surname.

Key Insights

  • While Turner is overwhelmingly male, 384 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.

Estimated Living Americans

7,943

About 1 in 43,152 people in the U.S.

Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

Predicted Gender

Male

96.2% confidence

Average Age

24

years old

Peak Year

2019

263 births

Total Registered

10,178

since 1880

Gender Distribution for Turner

Turner is predominantly male (96.2%), though 384 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.

Male 9,794 (96.2%)
Female 384 (3.8%)

Turner as a male name

Ranked #1,006 in 2024

223 male births in 2024

Peak: 2019 (246 births)

Turner as a female name

Ranked #5,121 in 2024

26 female births in 2024

Peak: 2024 (26 births)

Turner in the 2020 Census

The 2020 Census recorded 6,751 people with the first name Turner, which placed it at #3,196 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The estimated living count elsewhere on this page is different: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two figures are not expected to match exactly.

Read this section as a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The SSA charts elsewhere on this page are still the better way to see how the name rose, fell, or shifted across generations.

Gender in the 2020 Census

In the 2020 Census, Turner was recorded as predominantly male. Out of 6,751 people with this name in that snapshot, 94.3% were male and 5.7% were female. That is very close to the long-run birth pattern in SSA records, where the name is male 96.2% of the time.

Census Count

6,751

people with this name

Census Rank

#3,196

among Census first names

Frequency Rate

2.24

per 100,000 people

Male 6,368 (94.3%)
Female 383 (5.7%)

Recorded Race and Hispanic Origin in the 2020 Census

In the 2020 Census, the first name Turner was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (82.44%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (8.74%) and Two or More Races (4.34%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Turner in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.

White
82.44%
Black
8.74%
Hispanic
2.76%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.71%
American Indian/Alaska Native
1.01%
Two or More Races
4.34%

2020 Census demographic breakdown

Each row shows a recorded Census category for people with the first name Turner.

Group Share Count
White 82.44% 5,563
Black 8.74% 590
Two or More Races 4.34% 293
Hispanic 2.76% 186
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.01% 68
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.71% 48

The Census published separate sex and race/origin tables for first names, so their total counts can differ slightly for the same name. That is why the race section focuses on the demographic mix rather than repeating a second headline count.

Turner: Popularity Over Time

SSA records for Turner span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 2,360 babies were registered. While Turner is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.

Male
Female
0 53 105 158 210 263 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Turner by Decade

How has Turner 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 153 153 0
1890s 165 165 0
1900s 180 180 0
1910s 515 515 0
1920s 576 569 7
1930s 374 374 0
1940s 343 343 0
1950s 319 319 0
1960s 213 213 0
1970s 136 136 0
1980s 376 376 0
1990s 1,432 1,361 71
2000s 1,884 1,818 66
2010s 2,360 2,221 139
2020s 1,152 1,051 101

Turner by State

Birth registrations for Turner span all 35 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina. The lowest are in South Dakota, Idaho, Maryland. On average, about 153 Turners were registered per state.

Turner + Last Name Combinations

How many people share a full name with Turner as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.

Turner: Questions and Answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Turner?

We estimate approximately 7,943 people named Turner 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 43,152 Americans share this first name.

Is Turner a common name?

Turner is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,178 births have been registered with this name since 1880.

When was Turner most popular?

Turner reached peak popularity in 2019, when 263 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Turner is approximately 24 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.

How common was Turner in the 2020 Census?

The 2020 Census recorded 6,751 people with the first name Turner. That placed it at #3,196 in the published Census first-name tables, or 2.24 people per 100,000.

Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?

Because they measure different things. The Census number is a count of people with the name in 2020. The living estimate is a current model based on SSA birth records and survival rates, so it aims to estimate how many people with the name are alive now.

What does the SSA popularity chart show?

The popularity chart tracks birth registrations, not people currently alive. It shows how often Turner was given to babies from 1880 through 2024, which is why it is the best tool on the page for seeing long-run naming trends.

What does the Census say about the gender split for Turner?

In the 2020 Census snapshot, Turner was recorded as predominantly male. The published split was 94.3% male and 5.7% female.

What does the Census say about the background of people named Turner?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Turner was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (82.44%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (8.74%) and Two or More Races (4.34%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.

Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?

The Census published separate first-name tables for sex and for race and Hispanic origin. Those totals can differ slightly for the same name, so the page uses them as two related snapshots rather than treating them as perfectly interchangeable counts.

Does every first name have Census demographic data?

No. The public Census first-name tables only include names that met the Bureau's publication rules. That means some names on this site will have SSA history but no published Census demographic snapshot.

Is Turner a male name?

Turner is predominantly male. 96.2% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.

Why can Turner have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?

Because a name can build up a large population over many decades. Turner peaked in 2019, and the average living bearer is about 24 years old, so a name can still have millions of living bearers even after it stops feeling current for newborns.

How many Turner Smiths are there?

To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Turner Smith, Turner Johnson, Turner 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