Boys' name · since 1880
Buster
8,173 babies named Buster in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,360 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #6,817 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 8,173
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Buster currently ranks #6817 among boys' names in America, with 8,173 babies recorded since 1880.
Buster has 8,173 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #6817 as of the latest data, more common than 51% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,360 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #6,817 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 8,173 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Buster ranks #1,360 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,817 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 8,173 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,360 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #6,817 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 8,173
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Buster's 8,173 recorded births place it above 97% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
19 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Buster compares
8,173 Top 10% higher than 90% 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
Buster's all-time total is 22x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Buster | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 8,173 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 246 | 34 | 22,252 |
Buster's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Buster splits its recorded history at 1953: 20% of all births land in the more recent half, 80% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1881 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1918 peak of 246 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Buster popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 246
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Buster popularity over time - girls
5 total births recorded since 1918 (Buster as girls' name)
Buster by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (1,822 births, 22% of the file).
1920s was Buster's strongest decade.
1,822 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Buster births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 103
1880s
103 births
- 1890s 141
1890s
141 births
- 1900s 467
1900s
467 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,793 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,822 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,103 births
- 1940s
1940s
812 births
- 1950s 694
1950s
694 births
- 1960s 355
1960s
355 births
- 1970s 257
1970s
257 births
- 1980s 179
1980s
179 births
- 1990s 141
1990s
141 births
- 2000s 99
2000s
99 births
- 2010s 131
2010s
131 births
- 2020s 76
2020s
76 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 1,822 births (22% of all-time use).
How Buster 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 Buster's total volume
Buster by state
Where Buster concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 851 | 10.4% |
| #2 | South Carolina | | 501 | 6.1% |
| #3 | Oklahoma | | 490 | 6.0% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 372 | 4.6% |
| #5 | Alabama | | 353 | 4.3% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 351 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Tennessee | | 336 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Arkansas | | 267 | 3.3% |
851 of 8,173 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 19 reporting states.
Buster appears in 19 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Buster? ▼
Where does Buster sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Buster most popular? ▼
Where is Buster most popular? ▼
How long has the name Buster been used? ▼
What names are similar to Buster? ▼
What to do with Buster's data
- Buster's decade-level peak was the 1920s (1,822 total births); usage has since declined to 76 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Busters (851 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 Buster
Nearby Names Like Buster
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Buster
Compare Buster side by side: Buster vs Bush Buster vs Buss
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Buster
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Buster: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Buster 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.