Demographic Aspects of First Names

Abstract

We introduce a list that offers information on the relation between first names and race or ethnicity. Drawing information from mortgage applications, the list includes 4,250 first names and information on their respective count and proportions across six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups. These six categories are consistent with the categories used in the Census Bureau's list on surnames' demographic information. Also, just like the Census Bureau's list of surnames, the list of first names is highly aggregated, so as to not identify any specific individuals.

Keywords: Race, ethnicity, first name

JEL Classification: C81, J15.