How Many People Are Named Ralph Nelson?
There are approximately 216 people named Ralph Nelson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,586,826 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Ralph with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nelson. 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
216
1 in 1,586,826 Americans
Combination Rarity
Uncommon
First Name
View full profileRalph
Last Name
View full profileNelson
Ralph: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ralph. The peak year was 1921 with 8,902 births. The average person named Ralph today is 68 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Ralph
In the 2020 Census, the first name Ralph was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (76.93%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (9.86%) and Hispanic (9.30%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Ralph 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 Ralph rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Nelson Surname
The surname Nelson 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 Nelson 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.
How we calculated this
The first name "Ralph" has an estimated frequency of 0.0458% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Nelson" appears at a rate of 137.44 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 Ralph are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 216 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Ralph
Other people with the surname Nelson
Ralph Nelson: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Ralph Nelson?
We estimate approximately 216 people named Ralph Nelson are alive in the United States today. The first name Ralph is shared by 156,968 Americans, and the surname Nelson is shared by 471,076.
How rare is the name Ralph Nelson?
This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,586,826 Americans. The first name Ralph is common and the surname Nelson is common.
Is Ralph a male or female name?
Ralph is predominantly male, with 99.6% of bearers being male and 0.4% female. It peaked in popularity in 1921 and the average bearer today is 68 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Ralph?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Ralph was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (76.93%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (9.86%) and Hispanic (9.30%). 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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