How Many People Are Named Watson?
An estimated 4,501 people in the United States have the first name Watson. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 19 years old, and Watson peaked in popularity in 2021 with 466 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Watson 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 Watson paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
4,501
About 1 in 76,151 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
19
years old
Peak Year
2021
466 births
Total Registered
6,491
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Watson
Watson is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 6,491 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Watson as a male name
Ranked #864 in 2024
278 male births in 2024
Peak: 2021 (466 births)
Watson as a female name
Ranked #14,973 in 2020
6 female births in 2020
Peak: 2018 (6 births)
Watson: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Watson span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2020s, when 1,866 babies were registered. Watson remains highly popular today, with recent registration numbers near its historical peak.
Watson by Decade
How has Watson 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.
Watson by State
Birth registrations for Watson span all 39 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina. The lowest are in New Jersey, Montana, Connecticut. On average, about 84 Watsons were registered per state.
Watson + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Watson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Watson
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Watson: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Watson?
We estimate approximately 4,501 people named Watson 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 76,151 Americans share this first name.
Is Watson a common name?
Watson is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 6,491 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Watson most popular?
Watson reached peak popularity in 2021, when 466 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Watson is approximately 19 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Watson a male name?
Watson is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Watson Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Watson Smith, Watson Johnson, Watson 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
How Many of Me