Skip to main content
NameAlmanac

Guides

Three guides that explain what SSA’s records can and cannot tell you about a name, each written from the figures on this site.

Updated

Every guide

  1. How SSA name data worksWhat the Social Security files hold, what they leave out, and how to read a name’s numbers.
  2. How names rise and fallWhat 146 years of records show about the life of a name: how fast names climb, how long they last, and which come back.
  3. Gender-neutral names in the dataHow names shared by girls and boys are counted, how their share has grown, and how names change sides.

Figures in the guides: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.