How Many People Are Named Ward?
An estimated 6,761 people in the United States have the first name Ward. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 60 years old, and Ward peaked in popularity in 1961 with 341 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ward 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 Ward paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ward is overwhelmingly male, 84 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
6,761
About 1 in 50,696 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
60
years old
Peak Year
1961
341 births
Total Registered
15,067
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ward
Ward is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 15,067 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Ward as a male name
Ranked #3,316 in 2024
36 male births in 2024
Peak: 1961 (341 births)
Ward as a female name
Ranked #12,041 in 2024
8 female births in 2024
Peak: 2019 (13 births)
Ward: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ward span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,515 babies were registered. Ward has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ward by Decade
How has Ward 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.
Ward by State
Birth registrations for Ward span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Michigan, California. The lowest are in Hawaii, Arizona, South Carolina. On average, about 218 Wards were registered per state.
Ward + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ward as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ward
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Ward: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ward?
We estimate approximately 6,761 people named Ward 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 50,696 Americans share this first name.
Is Ward a common name?
Ward is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 15,067 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ward most popular?
Ward reached peak popularity in 1961, when 341 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ward is approximately 60 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ward a male name?
Ward is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ward Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ward Smith, Ward Johnson, Ward 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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