James vs John

Side-by-side comparison of James and John - popularity rank, total births, peak decade, and historical trends from Social Security Administration data.

Name A

James

Boy name · Rank #5

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Name B

John

Boy name · Rank #21

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Which name is more popular?

Metric James John
Current Rank #5 #21
Total Births (all years) 5,250,638 5,182,633
Peak Year 1947 1947
Peak Year Births 94,767 88,324
Peak Decade 1950s 1950s
Gender Boy Boy
First Recorded Year 1880 1880

Births by Decade

Decade James John
1880s 54,055 89,949
1890s 50,723 80,664
1900s 62,170 84,590
1910s 275,070 376,311
1920s 515,301 564,052
1930s 547,479 487,950
1940s 795,775 711,614
1950s 843,768 797,922
1960s 684,722 713,394
1970s 444,713 402,612
1980s 356,491 321,150
1990s 244,980 240,151
2000s 163,179 161,104
2010s 139,689 102,800
2020s 72,523 48,370

Recent Annual Births (2014–present)

Year James John
2014 14,464 10,701
2015 14,865 10,423
2016 14,920 10,060
2017 14,362 9,536
2018 13,650 9,204
2019 13,198 8,863
2020 12,390 8,265
2021 12,474 8,186
2022 12,119 8,001
2023 11,739 7,804
2024 11,856 8,087
2025 11,945 8,027

Data Sources

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, ssa.gov/oact/babynames.
Source: SSA Annual Name Rankings, 1880–2025.

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