How Many People Are Named Gillian Anderson?

There are approximately 39 people named Gillian Anderson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 8,788,573 Americans.

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

1 in 8,788,573 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Gillian

Last Name

Anderson

Gillian: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Gillian. The peak year was 1999 with 1,030 births. The average person named Gillian today is 31 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Gillian

In the 2020 Census, the first name Gillian was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (78.88%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (7.12%) and Hispanic (6.21%).

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

White

78.88%

Black

7.12%

Hispanic

6.21%

Asian/Pacific Islander

3.07%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.27%

Two or More Races

4.45%

Ancestry of the Anderson Surname

The surname Anderson 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 Anderson 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

72.62%

Black

18.41%

Hispanic

3.47%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.76%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.67%

Two or More Races

4.08%

How we calculated this

The first name "Gillian" 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 "Anderson" appears at a rate of 253.12 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 Gillian are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 39 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Gillian

Gillian Smith Gillian Johnson Gillian Williams Gillian Brown Gillian Jones Gillian Garcia Gillian Armstrong

Other people with the surname Anderson

Michael Anderson James Anderson John Anderson David Anderson Robert Anderson William Anderson Christopher Anderson Joseph Anderson

Gillian Anderson: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Gillian Anderson?

We estimate approximately 39 people named Gillian Anderson are alive in the United States today. The first name Gillian is shared by 15,315 Americans, and the surname Anderson is shared by 867,567.

How rare is the name Gillian Anderson?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 8,788,573 Americans. The first name Gillian is uncommon and the surname Anderson is very common.

Is Gillian a male or female name?

Gillian is predominantly female, with 0.4% of bearers being male and 99.6% female. It peaked in popularity in 1999 and the average bearer today is 31 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Gillian?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Gillian was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (78.88%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (7.12%) and Hispanic (6.21%). 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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