How Many People Are Named Pearl Smith?

There are approximately 199 people named Pearl Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,722,384 Americans.

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

199

1 in 1,722,384 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

Pearl: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Pearl. The peak year was 1918 with 4,622 births. The average person named Pearl today is 52 years old.

Male
Female
0 924 2K 3K 4K 5K 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Pearl

In the 2020 Census, the first name Pearl was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (55.29%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (22.15%) and Hispanic (9.83%).

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

White
55.29%
Black
22.15%
Hispanic
9.83%
Asian/Pacific Islander
7.82%
American Indian/Alaska Native
1.55%
Two or More Races
3.37%

Ancestry of the Smith Surname

The surname Smith 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 Smith 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
67.99%
Black
22.62%
Hispanic
3.50%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.68%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.83%
Two or More Races
4.37%

How we calculated this

The first name "Pearl" 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 "Smith" appears at a rate of 792.79 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 Pearl are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 199 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Pearl Smith: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Pearl Smith?

We estimate approximately 199 people named Pearl Smith are alive in the United States today. The first name Pearl is shared by 25,131 Americans, and the surname Smith is shared by 2,717,332.

How rare is the name Pearl Smith?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,722,384 Americans. The first name Pearl is uncommon and the surname Smith is very common.

Is Pearl a male or female name?

Pearl is predominantly female, with 2.4% of bearers being male and 97.6% female. It peaked in popularity in 1918 and the average bearer today is 52 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Pearl?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Pearl was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (55.29%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (22.15%) and Hispanic (9.83%). 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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