Top 80 US name Boys' name Peak 1989 610,370 births

Aaron — #79 US boys' name

610,370 babies named Aaron in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1989. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s9101890s8301900s10501910s45701920s61771930s47271940s59401950s111421960s260711970s1014851980s1383661990s1283722000s869882010s704712020s23271
#79
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.4% of names given to boys today.

1980s
Peak decade

23% of everyone ever named Aaron was born in this single decade.

1989
Single peak year

15,311 babies were named Aaron in 1989 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Aaron

The Social Security Administration has registered 610,370 babies named Aaron between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Aaron currently holds the #79 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1989, when 15,311 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Aaron performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 138,366 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Aaron shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 81,577 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Aaron in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Aaron in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 610,370 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Aaron at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

610,370

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1989

15,311 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

#79

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Aaron popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1989)
15,311
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,00020,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 102

Aaron popularity over time — girls

4,377 total births recorded since 1914 (Aaron as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 4,377 births
-50050100150200 202420122000198819761964195119301914 5

Aaron by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
138,366 births that decade — 23% of Aaron's all-time total
1880s9101890s8301900s10501910s45701920s61771930s47271940s59401950s111421960s260711970s1014851980s1383661990s1283722000s869882010s704712020s23271

Aaron by state

Where Aaron concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Aaron
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
81,577 13.4%
#2 Texas
54,620 8.9%
#3 New York
34,284 5.6%
#4 Ohio
29,990 4.9%
#5 Illinois
26,198 4.3%
#6 Michigan
25,128 4.1%
#7 Pennsylvania
23,775 3.9%
#8 Florida
22,634 3.7%
California share of Aaron's total US births 13.4%
Even split

81,577 of 610,370 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Aaron appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Aaron?
610,370 babies have been named Aaron since 1880. It currently ranks #79 among boys. The peak year was 1989 with 15,311 births.
When was Aaron most popular?
Aaron was most popular in the 1980s decade with 138,366 total births. The single peak year was 1989.
Where is Aaron most popular?
The top states for the name Aaron are California (81,577 births), Texas (54,620 births), New York (34,284 births).
How long has the name Aaron been used?
Aaron has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Aaron?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Aarav, Aarush, Aaryan, Aarron, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Aaron

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.