American software engineer Riley Waltz has launched Who Wed Who, an interactive online tool that reveals which first and last names people are most likely to marry based on records from more than six million couples in the United States.
The tool allows users to enter any first or last name to generate instant lists showing common marital name combinations as well as names that pair together at unusually high rates.
Waltz compiled data from millions of wedding registry listings to build the database. "I scraped 6.4 million couples' names from The Knot, a popular American wedding registry," Waltz said. "Type any first or last name and see who people with that name actually married."
The Knot is a major online wedding planning company founded in 1996 that provides digital registry services and planning tools for engaged couples in the United States.
To try the tool, visitors go to Waltz's website, enter a first or last name into the search box, and click search. Results appear within seconds, displaying standard marital pairings alongside names that occur together at disproportionately high frequencies compared to chance.
For example, women named Rose most commonly marry men named John, Michael, David, Chris, and Daniel. The tool also reveals that a Rose has a 162 times higher chance of marrying a Frantz, a 96 times higher chance of ending up with a Mayme, and a 53 times higher chance of settling down with a Claudio.
Most Popular Marriage Name Pairings
Celebrity couples frequently feature memorable name combinations, from pop star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce to fashion designer Victoria Beckham and former footballer David Beckham. The Who Wed Who tool shows how ordinary first names and surnames pair up across millions of marriages.
According to the dataset, Jessica & Michael is the most popular first-name couple pairing in the United States.
The top five first-name pairings overall are Jessica & Michael, followed by Michael & Sarah, Ashley & Michael, Amanda & Michael, and Jennifer & Michael. Additional popular first-name combinations recorded by the tool include Jessica & Matthew, Emily & Michael, Lauren & Michael, Jessica & Ryan, Ashley & Ryan, Ryan & Sarah, and Ashley & Matthew.
Surname Pairing Statistics
When searching by surname, the tool indicates that individuals with the last name Best most commonly marry people named Smith, Brown, Johnson, White, and Miller. People with the surname Best also marry individuals named Axtell 299 times more often than average, Suggs 95 times more often, Bledsoe 63 times more often, and Prescott 54 times more often.
For last names overall, Jones & Smith is the most common surname pairing in the United States.
The top surname pairings in the database are Jones & Smith, followed by Johnson & Smith, Kim & Lee, Brown & Smith, and Smith & Williams.
Social Media Response and User Reactions
Waltz shared the tool on X, formerly known as Twitter, where users quickly shared their search results and commented on the pairings.
One user joked about his past dating history after reviewing the results. "I don't think I've ever dated an Emily, Taylor, Sarah, or Ashley. Apparently a mistake on my part," he wrote.
Another user expressed surprise after checking his marriage against the tool's top results. "My wife's name is # 1 for my name. What have you done!" he tweeted.
A third user noted that his name appeared in a rare category. "My name is on my gf's "surprisingly often" list. You've given me a great boon, many blessings on your house," the post stated.
Another user highlighted a statistical match with her spouse. "What a fun project! I married a Jay - 17x more likely than chance," she wrote.
UK Birth Date Data Released by ONS
The release of the marriage tool follows demographic data published by the Office for National Statistics, the UK government agency responsible for collecting and reporting official statistical data. The ONS figures reveal the most common birth dates in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 2025.
The official statistics show that September 26 was the most common day to be born in the UK over the 30-year period.
In fact, all 10 of the most common birthdays in the UK fall during September. In order of frequency, the top birth dates are September 26, 25, 27, 23, 30, 19, 22, 24, 18, and 29.
The concentration of September birthdays indicates that more babies are conceived in the weeks around Christmas than at any other time of the year.
Conversely, the Christmas holiday period represents the least common time for birthdays in the UK. Boxing Day on December 26 is the day people are least likely to have a birthday, followed by Christmas Day on December 25 and New Year's Day on January 1.
