How Many People Are Named Reed Smith?

There are approximately 247 people named Reed Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,387,669 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Reed 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

247

1 in 1,387,669 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

Reed: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Reed. The peak year was 2014 with 1,122 births. The average person named Reed today is 27 years old.

Male
Female
0 224 449 673 898 1K 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Reed

In the 2020 Census, the first name Reed was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (89.57%). The next largest recorded groups were Two or More Races (4.00%) and Hispanic (3.05%).

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

White
89.57%
Black
1.76%
Hispanic
3.05%
Asian/Pacific Islander
1.16%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.45%
Two or More Races
4.00%

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 "Reed" 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 Reed are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 247 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Reed Smith: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Reed Smith?

We estimate approximately 247 people named Reed Smith are alive in the United States today. The first name Reed is shared by 31,143 Americans, and the surname Smith is shared by 2,717,332.

How rare is the name Reed Smith?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,387,669 Americans. The first name Reed is uncommon and the surname Smith is very common.

Is Reed a male or female name?

Reed is predominantly male, with 97.5% of bearers being male and 2.5% female. It peaked in popularity in 2014 and the average bearer today is 27 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Reed?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Reed was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (89.57%). The next largest recorded groups were Two or More Races (4.00%) and Hispanic (3.05%). 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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