Boys' name · since 1980
Bow
Bow has 260 recorded births since 1980 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2022 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #11,438 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #6,569 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 260
- born since 1980
- 2010s
- peak decade
Bow currently ranks #6569 among boys' names in America, with 260 babies recorded since 1980.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bow has been recorded 260 times among boys since 1980, currently ranked #6569 nationally and more common than 53% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1980 to 2025.
- #11,438 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #6,569 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 260 born since 1980
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bow ranks #11,438 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,569 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 260 born since 1980, peaking in the 2010s.
- #11,438 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #6,569 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 260
- born since 1980
- 2010s
- peak decade
Bow's 260 recorded births place it above 74.81% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Bow compares
260 43rd percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Bow's all-time total is 30% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Bow | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 260 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 21 | 34 | 22,252 |
Bow's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Bow splits its recorded history at 2013: 70% of all births land in the more recent half, 30% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1980 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2022 peak of 21 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Bow popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1980–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 21
- Annual births at peak, across 46 years of records
Bow popularity over time - girls
5 total births recorded since 2013 (Bow as girls' name)
Bow by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (139 births, 53% of the file).
2010s was Bow's strongest decade.
139 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 53% of all-time use.
Bow births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s 11
1980s
11 births
- 1990s 10
1990s
10 births
- 2000s 36
2000s
36 births
- 2010s
2010s
139 births
- 2020s
2020s
64 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 139 births (53% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Bow's data
- Bow's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (139 total births) through the 2020s (64) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Bow
Nearby Names Like Bow
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bow
Compare Bow side by side: Bow vs Bowen Bow vs Bowie Bow vs Bowman
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Bow
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Bow: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~45 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1980–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Bow draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.