How Many People Are Named Benjamin Foster?

There are approximately 527 people named Benjamin Foster living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 650,388 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Benjamin with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Foster. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

527

1 in 650,388 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Benjamin

Last Name

Foster

Benjamin: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Benjamin. The peak year was 1989 with 15,788 births. The average person named Benjamin today is 31 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Benjamin

In the 2020 Census, the first name Benjamin was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (73.85%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (13.57%) and Black (4.66%).

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

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Benjamin rose or fell over time.

White

73.85%

Black

4.66%

Hispanic

13.57%

Asian/Pacific Islander

3.57%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.46%

Two or More Races

3.89%

Ancestry of the Foster Surname

The surname Foster was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Foster in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

67.00%

Black

23.18%

Hispanic

3.68%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.72%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.81%

Two or More Races

4.61%

How we calculated this

The first name "Benjamin" has an estimated frequency of 0.210% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Foster" appears at a rate of 73.21 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Benjamin are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 527 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Benjamin

Benjamin Smith Benjamin Johnson Benjamin Williams Benjamin Brown Benjamin Jones Benjamin Garcia Benjamin Miller Benjamin Wilson

Other people with the surname Foster

Michael Foster James Foster John Foster David Foster Robert Foster William Foster George Foster

Benjamin Foster: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Benjamin Foster?

We estimate approximately 527 people named Benjamin Foster are alive in the United States today. The first name Benjamin is shared by 720,290 Americans, and the surname Foster is shared by 250,931.

How rare is the name Benjamin Foster?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 650,388 Americans. The first name Benjamin is very common and the surname Foster is common.

Is Benjamin a male or female name?

Benjamin is predominantly male, with 99.7% of bearers being male and 0.3% female. It peaked in popularity in 1989 and the average bearer today is 31 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Benjamin?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Benjamin was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (73.85%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (13.57%) and Black (4.66%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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