Boys' name · since 1893

Buddy

Buddy has 22,540 recorded births since 1893 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1935 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#779 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#4,402 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
22,540
born since 1893
1930s
peak decade

22,540 babies have been named Buddy since 1893, making it today's #4402 boys' name.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Buddy has been recorded 22,540 times among boys since 1893, currently ranked #4402 nationally and more common than 68% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1930s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1893 to 2025.

  • #779 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #4,402 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 22,540 born since 1893
  • 1930s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Buddy ranks #779 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,402 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 22,540 born since 1893, peaking in the 1930s.

#779 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#4,402 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
22,540
born since 1893
1930s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%68.3%
Buddy vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Buddy's 22,540 recorded births place it above 98.28% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

37 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

37 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.

How Buddy compares

22,540 Top 6% higher than 94% of 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

Buddy's all-time total is 61x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Buddy Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 22,540 369 358,536
Peak-year births 604 34 22,252

Buddy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Buddy's SSA record in two at 1960 and the more recent half accounts for 32% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 68%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1893, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1935 peak of 604, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Buddy popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1893–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1935)
604
Annual births at peak, across 133 years of records
0200400600800 189319121929194619631980199720142025 23

Buddy popularity over time - girls

45 total births recorded since 1925 (Buddy as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 45 births
4.555.566.577.5 19251928193619381940194219431980 6

Buddy by decade

1930s is the heaviest window (5,104 births, 23% of the file).

1930s was Buddy's strongest decade.

5,104 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.

Buddy births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1930s at 5,104 births (23% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Buddy compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Buddy's total volume

Buddy vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -37, 6.9%-146, 2.7%-116, 7.1%-146, 2.8%-124, 3.4%-138, 5.1%-146, 5.2%-146, 7.8%-111, 2.7%-146, 4.5%-146, 2.7%-101, 4%-142, 3.7%-114, 6.9%-146, 3.6%Buddy-133, 2.7%Buddy
Buddy vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Buddy by state

Where Buddy concentrates geographically, total births since 1893

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Buddy
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
2,165 9.6%
#2 California
1,346 6.0%
#3 Oklahoma
1,344 6.0%
#4 Tennessee
1,159 5.1%
#5 North Carolina
1,129 5.0%
#6 Georgia
921 4.1%
#7 Arkansas
856 3.8%
#8 Missouri
805 3.6%
Texas share of Buddy's total US births 9.6%
Even split

2,165 of 22,540 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 37 reporting states.

Buddy appears in 37 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Buddy? ▼
22,540 babies have been named Buddy since 1893. All-time, it sits at #779 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #4,402 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1935 with 604 births.
Where does Buddy sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Buddy ranks #779 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,402 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Buddy most popular? ▼
Buddy was most popular in the 1930s decade with 5,104 total births. The single peak year was 1935.
Where is Buddy most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Buddy are Texas (2,165 births), California (1,346 births), Oklahoma (1,344 births).
How long has the name Buddy been used? ▼
Records for Buddy go back to 1893, giving 133 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Buddy? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Bud, Buddie, Budd, Buddha. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Buddy's data

  • Buddy's decade-level peak was the 1930s (5,104 total births); usage has since declined to 182 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • Texas records the most Buddys (2,165 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Buddy

Nearby Names Like Buddy

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Buddy

Bud Boy
#6804 9,502 births
Buddie Boy
1,496 births
Budd Boy
1,090 births
Buddha Boy
#11909 6 births

Compare Buddy side by side: Buddy vs Bud Buddy vs Buddie Buddy vs Budd

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Buddy

Galen #4401
16,500 births · Peak 1949
Corwin #4403
4,353 births · Peak 1988
Reno #4400
4,160 births · Peak 1996
Arlis #4404
1,972 births · Peak 1931
Franklyn #4399
6,097 births · Peak 1933
Noland #4405
1,778 births · Peak 2021
Odell #4398
14,883 births · Peak 1922
Stirling #4406
851 births · Peak 2015

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Buddy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1893–2025 (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 Buddy 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.