How Many People Are Named Pamela Thompson?

There are approximately 953 people named Pamela Thompson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 359,658 Americans.

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

953

1 in 359,658 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Pamela

Last Name

Thompson

Pamela: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Pamela. The peak year was 1954 with 27,399 births. The average person named Pamela today is 63 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Pamela

In the 2020 Census, the first name Pamela was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.50%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (11.27%) and Hispanic (4.18%).

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

White

80.50%

Black

11.27%

Hispanic

4.18%

Asian/Pacific Islander

1.14%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.56%

Two or More Races

2.34%

Ancestry of the Thompson Surname

The surname Thompson 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 Thompson 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

67.14%

Black

22.95%

Hispanic

3.47%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.71%

American Indian/Alaska Native

1.13%

Two or More Races

4.60%

How we calculated this

The first name "Pamela" has an estimated frequency of 0.130% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Thompson" appears at a rate of 214.15 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 Pamela are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 953 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Pamela

Pamela Smith Pamela Johnson Pamela Williams Pamela Brown Pamela Jones Pamela Garcia Pamela Anderson Pamela Martin

Other people with the surname Thompson

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

Pamela Thompson: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Pamela Thompson?

We estimate approximately 953 people named Pamela Thompson are alive in the United States today. The first name Pamela is shared by 445,229 Americans, and the surname Thompson is shared by 734,018.

How rare is the name Pamela Thompson?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 359,658 Americans. The first name Pamela is common and the surname Thompson is very common.

Is Pamela a male or female name?

Pamela is predominantly female, with 0.2% of bearers being male and 99.8% female. It peaked in popularity in 1954 and the average bearer today is 63 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Pamela?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Pamela was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.50%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (11.27%) and Hispanic (4.18%). 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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