How Many People Are Named Fern Brown?

There are approximately 32 people named Fern Brown living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 10,711,073 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Fern with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Brown. 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

32

1 in 10,711,073 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

Fern: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Fern. The peak year was 1918 with 1,356 births. The average person named Fern today is 59 years old.

Male
Female
0 271 542 814 1K 1K 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Fern

In the 2020 Census, the first name Fern was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (84.42%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (7.33%) and Two or More Races (2.48%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Fern 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 Fern rose or fell over time.

White
84.42%
Black
7.33%
Hispanic
2.46%
Asian/Pacific Islander
1.84%
American Indian/Alaska Native
1.47%
Two or More Races
2.48%

Ancestry of the Brown Surname

The surname Brown 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 Brown 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
55.43%
Black
34.68%
Hispanic
3.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.66%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.85%
Two or More Races
4.83%

How we calculated this

The first name "Fern" has an estimated frequency of < 0.0001% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Brown" appears at a rate of 463.73 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 Fern are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 32 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Fern Brown: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Fern Brown?

We estimate approximately 32 people named Fern Brown are alive in the United States today. The first name Fern is shared by 6,806 Americans, and the surname Brown is shared by 1,589,457.

How rare is the name Fern Brown?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 10,711,073 Americans. The first name Fern is rare and the surname Brown is very common.

Is Fern a male or female name?

Fern is predominantly female, with 1.4% of bearers being male and 98.6% female. It peaked in popularity in 1918 and the average bearer today is 59 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Fern?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Fern was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (84.42%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (7.33%) and Two or More Races (2.48%). 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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