Where Our Data Comes From

This page explains where every number and every meaning on the site comes from, so you can judge them for yourself.

Birth data: US Social Security Administration

All counts, ranks and charts come from the US Social Security Administration (SSA) baby name files. They list every first name given to at least five babies of one sex in a year, based on applications for Social Security cards, from 1880 to 2025. State files cover the years up to 2025. The data is a US government work and in the public domain.

The SSA does not publish names given to fewer than five babies in a year, to protect privacy. So a name that looks absent in a year may still have been used a few times. Early years, especially before the 1930s, undercount births because not everyone applied for a Social Security card as a child.

How we rank names

We compute ranks ourselves from the published counts, separately for girls and boys, ordering names by the number of babies and then alphabetically for ties. This gives one consistent ranking across every page. Our ranks can differ by a place or two from other sources that break ties differently.

When a name is used for both sexes, its profile uses the sex that received it most over the last twenty years. We call a name unisex when neither sex accounts for more than 80% of babies given the name in that period.

Spellings and pronunciation

The SSA counts each spelling as a separate name. We link spellings that share an identical pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, a widely used open pronunciation dictionary, and list them on each other's profiles. Pronunciations are shown as simple respellings with the stressed syllable in capitals, reviewed by hand for the most-used names.

Meanings and origins

Meanings and origins for 11,815 names are written from standard etymologies and reviewed in batches, with a sample of every batch checked against reference sources. Each meaning carries a confidence level. Where the origin is uncertain or disputed, we say so on the page. Modern American names built from existing names or words, such as blends and respellings, are described as such.

We never copy meanings or lists from other baby name websites.

Which names get a profile

A name gets a full profile page when at least 1,000 US babies have received it since 1880 and there is enough to say about it. Lists and tools cover a wider set of 24,303 names. We add profiles gradually, starting with the names parents search for most.

Updates

The SSA publishes a new year of data each spring. We refresh every figure on the site when it does. If you spot an error in a meaning or origin, please tell us through the contact page.