How Many People Are Named Vanilla?
An estimated 33 people in the United States have the first name Vanilla. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 74 years old, and Vanilla peaked in popularity in 1919 with 15 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Vanilla 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 Vanilla paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 74, Vanilla is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1962.
- Vanilla is exceptionally rare. Fewer than 100 people with this name are estimated to be alive in the U.S. today.
Estimated Living Americans
33
About 1 in 10,386,495 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
74
years old
Peak Year
1919
15 births
Total Registered
199
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Vanilla
Vanilla is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 199 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Vanilla as a female name
Ranked #11,412 in 1978
5 female births in 1978
Peak: 1919 (15 births)
Vanilla: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Vanilla span from the 1890s to the 1970s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 69 babies were registered. Vanilla has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Vanilla by Decade
How has Vanilla 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.
Vanilla + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanilla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Vanilla
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
Vanilla: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanilla?
We estimate approximately 33 people named Vanilla 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 10,386,495 Americans share this first name.
Is Vanilla a common name?
Vanilla is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 48% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 199 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Vanilla most popular?
Vanilla reached peak popularity in 1919, when 15 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Vanilla is approximately 74 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Vanilla a female name?
Vanilla is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Vanilla Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Vanilla Smith, Vanilla Johnson, Vanilla 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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