Ambrose
Ambrose was given to 358 boys in 2025, #735 among boys’ names; 10,911 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,540 Americans named Ambrose and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (51% of everyone recorded); the median is 12 years old and half are between 4 and 43.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ambrose by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ambrose mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ambrose is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “immortal, divine” (ἀμβρόσιος).
From Latin saints' name Ambrosius, from Ancient Greek ἀμβρόσιος (ambrósios, “immortal, divine”). Compare Athanasius.
/ˈæmbɹoʊz/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ambrose?
#735 among boys’ names, 2025
Ambrose rose from #1,588 in 2015 to #735 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.05 to 0.21 per 1,000.
411 babies in 2021, the peak
Ambrose peaked in 2021, when 411 babies were given it (402 boys, #672 among boys’ names). The 363 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 88% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 358 | #735 | 0.21 |
| 2024 | 349 | #739 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 320 | #788 | 0.19 |
| 2022 | 365 | #721 | 0.21 |
| 2021 | 402 | #672 | 0.23 |
| 2020 | 281 | #818 | 0.16 |
| 2019 | 222 | #961 | 0.12 |
| 2018 | 118 | #1,465 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 97 | #1,630 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 97 | #1,641 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 101 | #1,588 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 89 | #1,701 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 95 | #1,612 | 0.05 |
| 2012 | 75 | #1,908 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 56 | #2,283 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 60 | #2,187 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 53 | #2,401 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 67 | #2,061 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 59 | #2,236 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 59 | #2,177 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 50 | #2,324 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 49 | #2,312 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 42 | #2,470 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 42 | #2,400 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 25 | #3,411 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 41 | #2,327 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 29 | #2,863 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 29 | #2,784 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 35 | #2,346 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 28 | #2,678 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 30 | #2,501 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 26 | #2,764 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 40 | #2,004 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 34 | #2,210 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 45 | #1,762 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 41 | #1,865 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 36 | #1,988 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 41 | #1,701 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 41 | #1,653 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 40 | #1,616 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 40 | #1,593 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 25 | #2,097 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 37 | #1,593 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 28 | #1,929 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 36 | #1,628 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 36 | #1,621 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 37 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 31 | #1,721 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 35 | #1,571 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 26 | #1,873 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 44 | #1,304 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 29 | #1,660 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 28 | #1,654 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 33 | #1,474 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 32 | #1,527 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 28 | #1,615 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 25 | #1,641 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 47 | #1,083 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 22 | #1,653 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 28 | #1,449 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 43 | #1,144 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 49 | #1,082 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 39 | #1,238 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 57 | #1,012 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 39 | #1,261 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 51 | #1,082 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 44 | #1,171 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 51 | #1,070 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 46 | #1,129 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 47 | #1,105 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 49 | #1,074 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 63 | #932 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 55 | #965 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 56 | #952 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 46 | #1,051 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 37 | #1,181 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 47 | #1,012 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 64 | #852 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 59 | #905 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 45 | #1,019 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 46 | #954 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 66 | #769 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 83 | #703 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 85 | #699 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 47 | #925 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 64 | #770 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 55 | #818 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 67 | #749 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 63 | #772 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 79 | #660 | 0.08 |
| 1935 | 80 | #663 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 74 | #708 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 84 | #632 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 104 | #581 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 72 | #718 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 104 | #591 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 104 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1928 | 123 | #548 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 111 | #589 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 155 | #482 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 165 | #467 | 0.15 |
| 1924 | 166 | #479 | 0.15 |
| 1923 | 158 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1922 | 170 | #472 | 0.16 |
| 1921 | 195 | #437 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 209 | #406 | 0.20 |
| 1919 | 187 | #431 | 0.19 |
| 1918 | 192 | #420 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 199 | #403 | 0.22 |
| 1916 | 179 | #418 | 0.20 |
| 1915 | 187 | #394 | 0.22 |
| 1914 | 147 | #392 | 0.22 |
| 1913 | 122 | #381 | 0.24 |
| 1912 | 98 | #388 | 0.23 |
| 1911 | 42 | #452 | 0.19 |
| 1910 | 48 | #370 | 0.25 |
| 1909 | 41 | #372 | 0.25 |
| 1908 | 25 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 27 | #448 | 0.18 |
| 1906 | 33 | #363 | 0.25 |
| 1905 | 24 | #452 | 0.18 |
| 1904 | 34 | #344 | 0.27 |
| 1903 | 32 | #340 | 0.27 |
| 1902 | 26 | #389 | 0.21 |
| 1901 | 35 | #294 | 0.33 |
| 1900 | 47 | #305 | 0.31 |
| 1899 | 28 | #337 | 0.26 |
| 1898 | 43 | #274 | 0.35 |
| 1897 | 37 | #299 | 0.33 |
| 1896 | 42 | #282 | 0.35 |
| 1895 | 38 | #289 | 0.32 |
| 1894 | 34 | #298 | 0.29 |
| 1893 | 52 | #239 | 0.46 |
| 1892 | 31 | #335 | 0.25 |
| 1891 | 27 | #325 | 0.27 |
| 1890 | 37 | #283 | 0.33 |
| 1889 | 27 | #338 | 0.24 |
| 1888 | 41 | #280 | 0.34 |
| 1887 | 29 | #307 | 0.29 |
| 1886 | 30 | #311 | 0.27 |
| 1885 | 32 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1884 | 36 | #288 | 0.31 |
| 1883 | 36 | #275 | 0.34 |
| 1882 | 38 | #277 | 0.33 |
| 1881 | 43 | #233 | 0.43 |
| 1880 | 32 | #291 | 0.29 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ambrose a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ambrose has been given almost only to boys: 43 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ambrose: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ambrose, and how old are they?
5,540 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 51% of the 10,911 Americans ever recorded as Ambrose. The median Ambrose alive today is 12 years old; half are between 4 and 43.
The 2020 Census counted 3,945 people named Ambrose (65 women and girls, 3,880 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,867 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 236 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 619 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 462 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 539 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 759 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,920 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ambrose born?
The states with the most babies named Ambrose are California, Texas and Illinois, with 26% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 36 | #732 | 0.6× |
| Texas | 35 | #778 | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 15 | #608 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 15 | #540 | 0.4× |
| Ohio | 14 | #651 | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 14 | #484 | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | #662 | 0.9× |
| Arizona | 13 | #528 | 0.9× |
| Minnesota | 12 | #447 | 1.6× |
| Wisconsin | 11 | #440 | 1.4× |
Where Ambrose is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ambrose is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ambrose with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 11,856 babies since 1880, Ambrose is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 363 of their 363 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ambrose
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ambrose and names like it
- Compare Ambrose and AmbrosioBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sAmbrose peaked in 2021.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ambrose since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Ambrose: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Ambrose.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Ambrose alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with AMost given first.