Most famous people were born with ordinary names, so they share them with thousands of other people. No record counts full names, but you can estimate them: combine how many people alive in the US have the first name with how common the last name was in the 2010 Census. By that estimate, about 2,500 people in the US are named Michael Jordan, and about 17,000 are named Robert Johnson. At the other end, some famous first names barely existed before the person who made them famous.
How the Estimate Works
Take the number of people alive with the first name, for example 3,595,413 for Michael. Multiply it by the last name’s share of the population: Jordan has 70.65 per 100,000 people. The result, about 2,500, is how many Michaels would be Jordans if last names were handed out at random. The full-name guide explains the method and its limits. All the figures below are rounded, because the method can’t be more exact than that.
Famous Names With Thousands of Namesakes
| Full name | First name: people alive | Surname per 100,000 | Rough estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Johnson | 2,587,916 | 655.24 | 17,000 |
| John Williams | 2,737,543 | 550.97 | 15,000 |
| James Brown | 2,933,167 | 487.16 | 14,000 |
| Michael Jackson | 3,595,413 | 240.05 | 8,600 |
| James Taylor | 2,933,167 | 254.67 | 7,500 |
| David Lee | 2,705,330 | 234.94 | 6,400 |
| Jennifer Lee | 1,394,097 | 234.94 | 3,300 |
| Jessica Taylor | 1,019,821 | 254.67 | 2,600 |
| Michael Jordan | 3,595,413 | 70.65 | 2,500 |
| Maria Garcia | 465,883 | 395.32 | 1,800 |
Maria Garcia comes last, but the true number is likely much higher. In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Garcia were Hispanic, and Maria is a common name in Hispanic families, so the two go together far more often than random pairing assumes. This is the biggest weakness of the method: first and last names follow families and languages.
Famous First Names That Barely Existed Before
Social Security lists a first name only in years when at least 5 babies of the same sex received it. Several famous first names don’t appear until years after the famous person was born, which means fewer than 5 babies a year got them before. Beyonce appears without the accent, as the records write it:
| Name | Famous one born | First in records | People alive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oprah | 1954 | 1986 | 97 |
| Beyonce | 1981 | 1998 | 1,950 |
| Zendaya | 1996 | 2011 | 3,851 |
| Rihanna | 1988 | 2000 | 6,567 |
| Shaquille | 1972 | 1989 | 5,971 |
| Keanu | 1964 | 1990 | 8,803 |
The surnames can be just as rare. Only 181 people in the 2010 Census were named Theron, so a second Charlize Theron in the US is unlikely. When either name is this rare, the full-name estimate falls below one person.
When a Famous Character Lifts a Name
The clearest jumps in the records follow TV shows and films:
- Arya: 361 babies in 2010. Game of Thrones premiered in April 2011, and by 2019 the name had reached 3,100 babies. It has eased since, to 1,912 in 2025.
- Khaleesi: first appears in 2011, with 28 babies, and peaked at 565 in 2018. Daenerys, from the same show, first appears in 2012.
- Kylo: 8 babies in 2014 and 35 in 2015. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in December 2015, and 245 babies were named Kylo in 2016. The name has grown since, with ups and downs, to a peak of 883 in 2024; 806 babies got it in 2025.
- Elsa: 566 babies in 2013, the year Frozen opened in November, then 1,140 in 2014 and back to 658 in 2015.
Fame Doesn’t Always Last, or Lift
- Madonna peaked long before the singer, with 211 babies in 1954. After her Like a Virgin album came out in November 1984, the name rose from 63 babies in 1984 to 146 in 1985, then fell to 24 by 1990.
- Elvis went from 65 babies in 1955 to 423 in 1956, the year Heartbreak Hotel was released, and peaked at 618 in 1957. About 145 babies a year still get the name.
- Kanye peaked at 528 babies in 2004 and was down to 5 in 2025. Rihanna peaked at 1,080 in 2008 and was down to 87 in 2025.
The records show when a name rose or fell, not why. Parents choose names for many reasons, and a famous person is only one of them.
Real People With Fictional Names
The same estimate works for the names of famous characters. These are real people with the same first and last names:
Check Your Own Name
- Type your first name in the search box on the home page to see how many people alive in the US have it and how its popularity changed by year.
- Type your last name in the search box on the surnames page to see how many people had it in the 2010 Census.
- Combine the two with the full name estimate. If the result is below one, your full name is probably rare, whoever else is famous.
To see how rare a first name is on its own, the rarity guide explains the tiers.