Name Rarity
Look up how rare your name is in the US top 1000, then play streaks guessing which of two names is rarer. The gap shrinks as you climb
Look Up a Name
Search any name to see its rank and rarity in US baby names.
Data: US SSA top 1000 (2024)
About Name Rarity
Name Rarity looks up how common or rare any given name is. Type a name and see its global frequency rank, estimated population count, and a rarity rating that runs from "very common" (the top 1% of names by count) through several bands down to "extremely rare" (fewer than 1 in 100,000 people). Useful for naming a character, validating an assumption about how unusual your own name is, or settling a "have you ever met anyone called X?" argument.
Global and regional data. The lookup draws from publicly available birth-record and census datasets across multiple countries, so you can see how the same name varies in commonness across regions · "Mohammed" is one of the world's most common names overall but distributes unevenly; "Inger" is uncommon globally but normal in Scandinavia. The regional view shows where a name is concentrated.
First names and surnames. Toggle between given names and family names · the two distributions are very different (surnames have a long tail of single-family names; given names cluster around a few dozen popular choices in each language). The toggle lets you compare both sides of the same nominal record.
Rarity bands, explained. "Very common" covers the top ~1% of names by total count · roughly the names you'd encounter in everyday life. "Common" and "uncommon" cover the long middle. "Rare" and "very rare" cover names borne by a few thousand to a few hundred people. "Extremely rare" is fewer than 1 in 100,000 of the relevant population · names you might genuinely never have met someone with.
Part of the PlayMemorize family of browser tools. Runs entirely in your browser, works offline as a Progressive Web App.
FAQ
-
Where does the name data come from?
From publicly available birth-record and census datasets. The data covers names registered across multiple countries and is aggregated to show global frequency ranks. Coverage depth varies by country · large nations with good public records (US, UK, Sweden, Germany, India) are most comprehensive. -
Does it work for surnames too?
Yes. Toggle between first names and family names to compare rarity across both categories. The distributions are very different · surnames have a long tail of single-family names while first names cluster around a few dozen popular choices in each language. The toggle exposes both sides of the same nominal record. -
How is the rarity rating calculated?
Names are ranked by estimated global frequency. "Very common" covers the top ~1% of names by count. "Extremely rare" is below 1-in-100,000 of the relevant population. Several intermediate bands cover the long middle · common, uncommon, rare, very rare. -
Why does my name look more / less common than I expected?
Two common reasons: the lookup is global, so a name common in your region might be rare globally (e.g. many Scandinavian names) or vice versa. And spellings matter · "Catherine" / "Katherine" / "Kathryn" are tracked separately, so a popular name with many spelling variants can look rarer than its phonetic version actually is. Try the regional view and alternate spellings if the global rating surprises you. -
Does it work offline?
Yes. PlayMemorize is a Progressive Web App. The name dataset is bundled locally so lookups work without an internet connection.